Massey Energy Acquires Metallurgical and Thermal Coal Assets of Appalachian Fuels

RICHMOND, Va. -- Massey Energy Co. announced today it has completed the acquisition of select mining assets from the now bankrupt Appalachian Fuels, LLC and its affiliates. The assets, some of which were acquired in separate coal lease transactions, include 23 million tons of coal reserves, permitted deep and surface mines, a permitted preparation plant and associated refuse area, infrastructure and some mobile and mining equipment. They are located in Fayette County, W.Va., in close proximity to Massey's existing Mammoth and Nicholas Energy resource groups.

Over half of the acquired reserves are high quality metallurgical coal in the Powellton and Eagle Coal Seams. Massey plans to resume mining metallurgical coal in the Powellton Seam within a few months. The coal produced will be processed at Massey's Mammoth preparation plant. The preparation plant and the other idle deep and surface mines acquired in the transaction will not be operating immediately but could be brought back into production as market conditions warrant.

"We are very pleased with this acquisition and expect it to be almost immediately accretive to earnings," said Massey's President, Baxter F. Phillips, Jr. "We have already included additional metallurgical coal sales from the acquired mines in our plans for 2010. In the longer term we expect the permitted preparation plant and refuse area to provide us with further opportunities for developing Massey acquired and controlled coal reserves in the surrounding region."

Massey Energy Co. has a long history of making successful acquisitions of coal mining assets in Central Appalachia. The Company has increased its total coal reserves from 767 million tons in 1987 to more than 2.3 billion tons today. Of the total current reserves, 1.0 billion tons have metallurgical qualities and characteristics giving Massey the largest metallurgical coal reserves holding in the United States.

Massey Energy Co., headquartered in Richmond, Va., with operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia, is the largest coal company in Central Appalachia and is included in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.