ST. LOUIS, Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Patriot Coal
Corporation (NYSE: PCX) today announced the realignment of its
operations management to strengthen oversight of key mine complexes
in Appalachia and facilitate plans for expansion of captive
production. Effective November
21, the following management team will report directly to
Bennett K. Hatfield, Executive Vice
President & Chief Operating Officer:
- John R. Jones will join Patriot
as Vice President, Operations – West Virginia South Region,
including the Rocklick, Wells, Big Mountain and Paint Creek
complexes.
- James N. Magro will serve as
Senior Vice President, Operations – West Virginia North Region,
including the Panther, Kanawha Eagle and Federal complexes.
- Michael D. Day will be Senior
Vice President – Engineering and West Virginia Central Region
Operations, with dual responsibilities for both the corporate
engineering group and an operating region that includes the Logan
County, Corridor G, Campbell's
Creek and Blue Creek complexes.
- Lawrence J. Millburg will become
Vice President, Operations – Kentucky Region, including the
Bluegrass, Dodge Hill and Highland complexes.
- Terry G. Hudson will continue in
his current position as Vice President – Safety.
- E. Kent Hartsog will continue in
his current role as Vice President – Operations Support.
"The addition of John Jones to
our management team focuses experience and resources on our
southern West Virginia operations.
Our Met Build-Out program is a key part of our strategy, and
John will help ensure its success," stated Hatfield. "Also,
the new regional structure will allow us to target more of
Jim Magro's skills on our critical
longwall operations and the ongoing Kanawha Eagle expansion, and
will better accommodate Mike Day's
responsibility for managing our vital engineering, mine development
and environmental compliance efforts. Finally, Larry Millburg will be responsible for our
Western Kentucky operations at an
important juncture when a significant legacy customer contract is
just rolling off."
"This realignment of operations management is an important step
in strengthening Patriot's operating team and positioning the
company for organic expansion," concluded Hatfield.
Mr. Jones most recently served as Vice President Underground
Operations for the Brooks Run North Business Unit of Alpha Natural
Resources. His nearly 30 years of coal industry experience
with Alpha and Massey Energy includes management roles overseeing
several of their largest mining complexes in southern West Virginia. He holds a Bachelor of
Science degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Kentucky.
Mr. Magro joined Patriot in December
2009, serving as the Company's Senior Vice President of
Underground Mining. His Patriot service was preceded by a
lengthy career in operations management with Consol Energy.
Magro holds a Masters in Business Administration and a
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University.
Mr. Day previously served as Patriot's Senior Vice President –
Engineering & Surface Operations, overseeing the Company's
engineering, technical services, environmental and process
improvement functions, as well as Patriot's surface mining
operations in West Virginia.
Day holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering
from the University of Kentucky.
Mr. Millburg has more than 35 years of mining experience and has
held a number of mine management positions with Patriot Coal and
Peabody Energy. He has served as Patriot's Acting Vice
President – Midwest Operations since July
2011.
About Patriot Coal
Patriot Coal Corporation is a leading producer and marketer of
coal in the eastern United States,
with 14 active mining complexes in Appalachia and the Illinois Basin. The Company ships to
domestic and international electricity generators, industrial users
and metallurgical coal customers, and controls approximately 1.9
billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The
Company's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol PCX.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that
may be beyond our control and may cause our actual future results
to differ materially from expectations. We do not undertake
to update our forward-looking statements. Factors that could
affect our results include, but are not limited to: price
volatility and demand, particularly in higher margin products;
geologic, equipment and operational risks associated with mining;
changes in general economic conditions, including coal, power and
steel market conditions; coal mining laws and regulations; the
availability and costs of competing energy resources; legislative
and regulatory developments; risks associated with environmental
laws and compliance, including selenium-related matters;
developments in greenhouse gas emission regulation and treatment;
negotiation of labor contracts, labor availability and relations;
the outcome of pending or future litigation; changes in the costs
to provide healthcare to eligible active employees and certain
retirees under postretirement benefit obligations; increases to
contribution requirements to multi-employer retiree healthcare and
pension plans; reductions of purchases or deferral of shipments by
major customers; availability and costs of credit; customer
performance and credit risks; inflationary trends; worldwide
economic and political conditions; downturns in consumer and
company spending; supplier and contract miner performance and the
availability and cost of key equipment and commodities;
availability and costs of transportation; the Company's ability to
replace coal reserves; the outcome of commercial negotiations
involving sales contracts or other transactions; our ability to
respond to changing customer preferences; failure to comply with
debt covenants; the effects of mergers, acquisitions and
divestitures; and weather patterns affecting energy demand or
disrupting coal supply. The Company undertakes no obligation
(and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. For additional
information concerning factors that could cause actual results to
materially differ from those projected herein, please refer to the
Company's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports.
SOURCE Patriot Coal Corporation