Patriot Coal Transitions to Publicly Traded Company and Names Board of Directors

    ST. LOUIS, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Patriot Coal Corporation
 (NYSE:   PCX) today announced that it is transitioning to an independent,
 public company to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker
 symbol PCX.
     Distribution of Patriot stock to Peabody Energy shareholders is
 expected to occur on October 31, 2007 at a ratio of one share of Patriot
 Coal stock for every 10 shares of Peabody held. The distribution is
 contingent upon Patriot's registration statement on Form 10 being declared
 effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), along with other
 conditions outlined in the information statement filed with the SEC.
     Patriot is a leading producer of metallurgical and steam coal in the
 Eastern United States, with 2006 sales of 24 million tons and reserves
 totaling more than 1.2 billion tons. Patriot has a diverse portfolio of
 operations, with a leading metallurgical coal position serving U.S. and
 global steel producers, a Northern Appalachia and Illinois Basin coal
 presence serving America's highest concentration of scrubbed generating
 plants, and low sulfur Central Appalachian steam coal supplies.
     Patriot Coal's Board of Directors has also been named. Former Peabody
 Chairman Irl F. Engelhardt will serve as Chairman of Patriot's Board of
 Directors. Independent directors of the Board will include former Vice
 Chairman of Emerson Electric J. Joe Adorjan; former CONSOL Energy Chairman
 and Chief Executive Officer Bobby R. Brown; former Chief Financial Officer
 of Hanson Industries and Millennium Chemicals John E. Lushefski; Senior
 Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bunge North America Michael
 M. Scharf; and former Chief Executive Officer and Director of CILCORP
 Robert O. Viets.
     Patriot President and Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Whiting will
 also serve on the Board. He leads an executive team that features 142 years
 of industry experience. Those reporting to Whiting are: Senior Vice
 President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael V. Altrudo; Senior Vice
 President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Joseph W. Bean; Senior
 Vice President of Corporate Development Charles A. Ebetino, Jr.; Senior
 Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jiri Nemec; Senior Vice
 President and Chief Financial Officer Mark N. Schroeder; and Senior Vice
 President of Human Resources Sara E. Wade.
     "We see a very strong outlook for Patriot Coal," said Whiting. "Our
 proven management team is focused on maximizing the value of Patriot's
 portfolio of assets and growing through sound commercial transactions. With
 Patriot's diverse asset base and experienced workforce, we believe we are
 well-positioned in the robust markets for Eastern U.S. steam coal. Further,
 we expect our high-quality metallurgical coal position to serve us well as
 global demand in the steel industry continues to expand."
     About Patriot Coal
     Patriot Coal Corporation is a leading producer and marketer of coal in
 the Eastern United States, with eight company-operated mines, two joint
 venture mines and numerous contractor-operated mines in Appalachia and the
 Illinois Basin. The company ships to electric utilities, industrial users
 and metallurgical coal customers, and controls approximately 1.2 billion
 tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The company's common stock will
 trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCX.
     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: coal and power
 market conditions; the outcome of commercial negotiations involving sales
 contracts or other transactions; our dependence on Peabody Energy in the
 near future; geologic, equipment and operational risks associated with
 mining; supplier performance and the availability and cost of key equipment
 and commodities; our ability to recover coal reserves; labor availability
 and relations; availability and costs of transportation; legislative and
 regulatory developments; weather patterns affecting energy demand;
 availability and costs of competing energy resources; and other risks
 detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
 Commission.
     PATRIOT COAL CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
     Irl F. Engelhardt is a former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and
 President of Peabody Energy and former Co-Chief Executive Officer of The
 Energy Group. He is Chairman of The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and
 Director of Valero Energy and Williams Companies.
     J. Joe Adorjan is a former Vice Chairman of Emerson Electric, former
 Chief Executive Officer of ESCO Electronics and Former CEO of Borg-Warner
 Security.
     Bobby R. Brown is a former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
 CONSOL, former Director of Peabody Energy and Former Senior Vice President
 of Conoco.
     John E. Lushefski is a former Chief Financial Officer of Millennium
 Chemicals and Hanson Industries and former Chief Financial Officer of
 Peabody Holding.
     Michael M. Scharf is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
 for Bunge North America and former Chief Financial Officer of Peabody
 Holding.
     Robert O. Viets is a former Chief Executive Officer and Director of
 CILCORP, an Illinois provider of electric and gas services, and a Director
 of RLI Corp.
     Richard M. Whiting is President and Chief Executive Officer of Patriot
 Coal Corporation, former Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing
 Officer and former President and Chief Operating Officer of Peabody Energy.
 He is a member of the Society of Mining Engineers Foundation Board of
 Trustees.
     PATRIOT COAL CORPORATION EXECUTIVES
     Michael V. Altrudo is Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing
 Officer. Previously he served as Marketing Advisor for Peabody's COALTRADE
 International subsidiary and President of Peabody COALTRADE International.
 Altrudo has 33 years of experience, which includes prior sales and
 marketing positions with Zeigler, Drummond, Nerco and Derby Coal.
     Joseph W. Bean is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.
 Previously he served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for
 Peabody. He has two decades of law experience, which includes prior
 experience with Quaker Oats, Pet, and law firms Mayer, Brown & Platts and
 Thompson & Mitchell.
     Charles A. Ebetino, Jr. is Senior Vice President of Corporate
 Development. Previously he was Senior Vice President of Business and
 Resource Development for Peabody. Ebetino has 30 years of industry
 experience including 25 years with American Electric Power, where he
 directed mining subsidiaries and oversaw fuel supply.
     Jiri Nemec is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
 Previously he was Group Vice President of U.S. Eastern Operations for
 Peabody. He is a professional engineer and has 30 years of experience in
 coal operations and management in Appalachia.
     Mark N. Schroeder is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
 Previously he was President of Peabody China and Vice President and
 Controller of Peabody Energy. He has 27 years of business experience.
     Sara E. Wade is Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Previously
 she was Vice President for Compensation and Employee Services for Peabody.
 She has 15 years of experience, including prior experience with KPMG.
     CONTACT:
     Janine Orf
     (314) 542-2109
 
 

SOURCE Patriot Coal Corporation