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Atlantic Coal plc / Index: AIM / Epic: ATC / Sector: Mining

15 June 2011

Atlantic Coal plc ("Atlantic" or the "Company")

Appointment of Project Development Officer

Atlantic Coal plc, the AIM listed open cast coal production and processing company with activities in Pennsylvania, USA, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Barney Corrigan to its management team as Project Development Officer with immediate effect. Mr. Corrigan, who is experienced in the minerals and waste planning industry, will assist in the identification, evaluation, acquisition and development of coal sites both in the USA and potentially the UK, to increase the Company's project portfolio, resource base and production profile.

Mr. Corrigan has over 30 years experience in the resource industry, specialising in all aspects of mineral and waste planning. Most recently he was head of BHP Develop, the planning and design division of Blackett Hart & Pratt LLP, prior to which he was a Planning Manager with Dickinson Dees Law Firm and Planning and Development Manager for Andrew Golightly Limited. In the latter role, he was responsible for planning feasibility studies for surface mine sites, the preparation and submission of planning applications and environmental assessments and project management of the whole planning application process. As a consultant, he has helped in similar areas for a number of operators in the mining sector including the Banks Group, Coal Contractors, Hall Construction Services Ltd, Hutchinson Mining, Carmarthen Mining, Ward Brothers Mining, Draeth Developments, Euromining, Thompsons of Prudhoe and Owen Pugh.

Atlantic Managing Director Steve Best said, "This is good news for us as we look to develop the Company into a significant coal producer. Barney is a well known figure in the mineral planning industry and his experience of evaluating projects will be beneficial to Atlantic as we focus on identifying value accretive coal assets.

"The Anthracitic Coal Belt in Pennsylvania remains a priority for us and we continue to assess a number of opportunities which we believe have the potential to complement our producing coal mine at Stockton. Barney will provide valuable input into this process and with him we intend to rapidly advance a number of opportunities." 

**ENDS**

For further information on the Company, visit: www.atlanticcoal.com or contact:

Notes

Atlantic Coal plc is an AIM listed coal production and processing company focussed predominantly on open cast mining and the processing of anthracite coal in Pennsylvania, USA. The Company's primary asset is the Stockton Colliery, a producing surface coal mine and adjacent anthracite preparation plant encompassing an area of approximately 900 hectares located in Hazel Creek in North-East Pennsylvania, which has current Proven Reserves of 4.2 million tons run-of-mine coal.

Atlantic's strategy is to create a significant mid-tier coal company; both through the expansion of activities at Stockton and identifying additional sites in Pennsylvania to build its production and resource profile, primarily by acquiring defined assets in stable, recognised, high quality coal regions. The Board has identified opportunities to expand within the region and is involved in ongoing negotiations regarding adjacent sites, with the intention of acting as a regional consolidator in the Pennsylvanian Coal Field. Expansion within the local area has the potential to minimise upfront deal costs as a result of existing and proven infrastructure, equipment, facilities and market demand.