Arch Resources Becomes First U.S. Metallurgical Coal Supplier to Join ResponsibleSteel™

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May 13, 2021, 07:45 ET

ST. LOUIS, May 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Arch Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ARCH) today announced that it has joined ResponsibleSteel™, the steel industry's first global not-for-profit multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative. Arch is the first and only U.S. metallurgical coal producer to join the organization to date.

"Arch is committed to playing a vital role in building a sustainable global economy," said Paul A. Lang, Arch's chief executive officer. "We view ResponsibleSteel as a valuable forum for collaborating with our steelmaking partners as they endeavor to create a more ESG-compliant value chain, and as they seek to lower – and ultimately reduce to zero – the carbon intensity of the steelmaking process."

Anne-Claire Howard, CEO of ResponsibleSteel, said: "We are very happy to see Arch Resources join ResponsibleSteel. The role of metallurgical coal in the steelmaking process is considerable today, with 70 percent of steel being produced using it as an input material. We believe that working jointly with organisations directly involved in the production of metallurgical coal and other steelmaking inputs is essential in facilitating a responsible steel supply chain. Even as we strive to support an accelerated transition to net-zero steelmaking, we want to ensure that all inputs in the steelmaking process are being produced by responsible mining companies who take their ESG impacts seriously. We look forward to Arch Resources' input into our processes, and to collaborating to achieve our common goal of maximising steel's contribution to a sustainable society."

Arch believes that a significant amount of new steel will be required in a de-carbonizing world, given steel's importance in urbanization, infrastructure replacement, and the construction of essential de-carbonization tools such as mass transit systems, wind turbines and electric vehicles. At the same time, Arch believes that its own high-quality metallurgical products can assist steel producers in achieving incremental reductions in the overall carbon intensity of their manufacturing processes. Metallurgical coal – in combination with iron ore – is an essential input in the production of primary steel.

Arch is a recognized industry leader in mine safety, environmental stewardship, regulatory compliance, community engagement, and a full range of environmental, social and governance metrics. Arch's subsidiary operations have won seven Sentinels of Safety awards – the nation's highest distinction for mine safety – during the past 10 years. The world-class Leer and Leer South metallurgical mines captured the most recent two Department of Interior Good Neighbor awards for community engagement. Since 2013, Arch has reduced its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 55 percent, through the company's strategic shift towards higher-value but lower-volume metallurgical products and other initiatives.

Arch Resources is a premier producer of high-quality metallurgical products for the global steel industry. The company operates large, modern and highly efficient mines that consistently set the industry standard for both mine safety and environmental stewardship. Arch Resources from time to time utilizes its website – www.archrsc.com – as a channel of distribution for material company information. To learn more about us, our premium metallurgical products, and our commitment to the highest standards of environmental, social and governance performance, go to www.archrsc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "should," "appears," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, particular uncertainties arise from the COVID-19 pandemic, including its adverse effects on businesses, economies, and financial markets worldwide; from the impact of COVID-19 on efficiency, costs and production; from changes in the demand for our coal by the steel production and electricity generation industries; from our ability to access the capital markets on acceptable terms and conditions; from policy, legislation and regulations relating to the Clean Air Act, greenhouse gas emissions, incentives for alternative energy sources, and other environmental initiatives; from competition within our industry and with producers of competing energy sources; from our ability to successfully acquire or develop coal reserves, including the development of our Leer South mine; from operational, geological, permit, labor, transportation, and weather-related factors; from the effects of foreign and domestic trade policies, actions or disputes; from fluctuations in the amount of cash we generate from operations, which could impact, among other things, our ability to service our outstanding indebtedness and fund capital expenditures; from our ability to successfully integrate the operations that we acquire; from our ability to generate significant revenue to make payments required by, and to comply with restrictions related to, our indebtedness, including our ability to repurchase our convertible notes; from additional demands for credit support by third parties; from the loss of, or significant reduction in, purchases by our largest customers; from the development of future technology to replace coal with hydrogen in the steelmaking process; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. For a description of some of the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future results, you should see the risk factors described from time to time in the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Arch Resources, Inc.