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

27 September 2010

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

Board appointment & resignation

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 John Menzies to the Board as a non-executive director with immediate effect. Mr. Menzies is experienced in the resource sector and his corporate, investment and operations experience will be of benefit as Atlantic continues to develop production at its primary asset, the Stockton Colliery located in the Pennsylvanian Coal Field and looks to identify further regional consolidation opportunities.

Mr. Menzies, commenced his career as a geologist, in the employ of Houston Oil & Minerals Inc and then Amax Iron Ore Corporation Ltd. He was until recently the CEO of EurOmax Resources Limited, a Canadian listed company focussed on the exploration and development of gold and copper projects in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia. Earlier in his career he was Director and Vice President of Exploration for Carbine Gold NL ('Carbine'), managing gold exploration programs in Western Australia and as CEO of Steppe Gold Ltd advanced metals exploration and development projects in Central Asia. Through his investment and consulting company he was amongst the largest shareholders in Australian listed coal miner CIM Resources Ltd and for Huston Oil & Minerals Inc worked on the Oaky Creek Coal project in Australia. He is presently the Chairman of the SE Europe Geoscience Foundation a not-for-profit geoscience education foundation

The Board also announces that Greg Kuenzel, Atlantic's Finance Director and Company Secretary, and Toby Howell, a Non-Executive Director, will be stepping down from the Board to pursue other corporate interests, effective immediately. Greg will continue to work with the Company as Group Accountant on a part time basis. 

Atlantic Managing Director Steve Best said, "John has a deep knowledge of the resource sector and has been successful in adding value to companies across the mining arena. I believe that his financial, geological and technical experience will be of great assistance to Atlantic in the coming months and years.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Greg and Toby for their excellent work, support and assistance, which has been highly valuable during this pivotal time in Atlantic's mine development programme."

John Charles Menzies, aged 56, has been a director of the following companies during the previous five years:

Mr Menzies was President and Chief Executive Officer of Steppe Gold Resources Ltd ('Steppe'), which developed gold assets in Kazakhstan until 1998. Steppe was the subject of a cease trade order dated 8 July 1999 for a failure to file financial statements and was delisted by the CDNX on 31 May 2000 and subsequently dissolved.

There are no further disclosures to be made in relation to Mr Menzies under Schedule Two, paragraph (g) (i)-(viii) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

**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 ('ROM') coal.

Atlantic Coal's strategy is to create a significant mid-tier coal company; both through the expansion of activities at the Stockton anthracite mine 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.