Western Coal Announces 90% Increase in Fiscal Q2-2011 Production and Increases Production Guidance for Fiscal Year 2011

VANCOUVER, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Western Coal Corp. (TSX: WTN, WTN.WT and AIM: WTN) ("Company" or "Western") announces an increase of approximately 90% in coal production to 1.5 million tonnes for its fiscal second quarter ended 2011 (quarter ending September 30, 2010), compared with the quarter a year earlier.

Western also increased its production guidance for the full fiscal year 2011 (year ending March 31, 2011) to 6.1 million tonnes from the prior target of 6.0 million tonnes. The revised target represents an increase of approximately 91% from the 3.2 million tonnes produced in fiscal 2010.

Keith Calder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Coal Corp. said, "Producing 1.5 million tonnes in fiscal Q2-2011 represents a new quarterly record for Western. Our strong performance so far, which will be further bolstered with the addition of new equipment just arriving at our mines, gives us confidence that we can achieve our new and higher volume target for the year, and that our delivery plan is working."

Continued Mr. Calder, "We are especially fortunate because of the proximity of our British Columbia metallurgical coal mines to the northern port of Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert, B.C. Ridley Terminals is the North American coal port closest to Asia and the only major coal port in the world with excess capacity. Our partners Ridley Terminals and CN Rail are helping us to satisfy the growing demand for our metallurgical coal products in Asia."

    Western Coal Fiscal Second Quarter 2011 and First Half Fiscal 2011
    Production
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Metric                 Fiscal   Fiscal           YTD      YTD
      tonnes     Coal          Q2-      Q2-    %      Fiscal   Fiscal   %
    Operations   type         2011     2010  change    2011     2010  change
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Canada   Hard coking   573,000  327,000   75%  1,060,000   686,000   55%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Low-vol PCI   457,000  173,000  164%    830,000   220,000  277%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Total   1,030,000  500,000  106%  1,890,000   906,000  109%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    US      Metallurgical  205,000   93,000  120%    381,000    93,000  310%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Thermal    270,000  183,000   48%    468,000   183,000  156%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Total     475,000  276,000   72%    849,000   276,000  208%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Welsh    Anthracite     28,000   29,000   (4%)    62,000    29,000  114%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total
     volume              1,533,000  805,000   90%  2,801,000 1,211,000  131%
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Note:
    -   Fiscal Q2-2011 Canadian Operations results include hard coking coal
        and low-volatile PCI coal produced at the recently restarted Willow
        Mine.
    -   US Operations and Welsh Operations were acquired July 14, 2009 and
        are only included in the Company's results from that point forward.

About Western Coal

Western Coal is a producer of high quality metallurgical coal from three mines in northeast British Columbia (Canada), high quality metallurgical coal and compliant thermal coal from four mines located in West Virginia (USA), and high quality anthracite and metallurgical coal in South Wales (UK). Other interests owned include a 24% interest in Mandalay Resources Corporation (MND: TSX), 40% interest in Xtract Energy (XTR: AIM), and a 20% interest in NEMI Northern Energy & Mining (NNE.A: TSX). The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and trades on the AIM and TSX stock exchanges under the symbol "WTN". More information can be found at www.westerncoal.com

Forward-Looking Information

This release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements relate to the Company's expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs. As a result, actual future events or results could differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR. Such risk factors include, but are not limited to changes in commodity prices; strengths of various economies; the effects of competition and pricing pressures; the oversupply of, or lack of demand for, the Company's products; currency and interest rate fluctuations; various events which could disrupt the Company's construction schedule or operations; the Company's ability to obtain additional funding on favourable terms, if at all; and the Company's ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. Additionally, statements related to the quantity or magnitude of coal deposits are deemed to be forward-looking statements. The reliability of such information is affected by, among other things, uncertainties involving geology of coal deposits; uncertainties of estimates of their size or composition; uncertainties of projections related to costs of production; the possibilities in delays in mining activities; changes in plans with respect to exploration, development projects or capital expenditures; and various other risks including those related to health, safety and environmental matters.

SOURCE Western Coal Corp.