Press Releases

Patriot Coal Corporation announced today that its registration statement on Form 10 has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Patriot 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.

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.

For more information, please refer to http://www.patriotcoal.com/.

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.

  CONTACT:
  Janine Orf
  (314) 542-2109

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

SOURCE: Patriot Coal Corporation