Alpha Natural Resources Donates $25,000 to The Nature Conservancy’s Clinch Valley Program

ABINGDON, Va., Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The Nature Conservancy
announced today that Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) has donated $25,000
to the international group to help advance its conservation work in
southwestern Virginia’s Clinch River Valley.

The gift will support a joint Nature Conservancy and Virginia Department
of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (DMME) project to inventory and set priorities
for the reclamation of Abandoned Mine Lands within the Clinch River watershed.
Abandoned Mine Lands in the United States were mined for decades prior to the
passage of the federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, and
in many cases they constitute an ongoing threat to human health and the
environment.

“The Nature Conservancy of Virginia is very appreciative of this gift from
Alpha Natural Resources,” said Michael Lipford, director of The Nature
Conservancy of Virginia. “Their support will help us work in partnership with
Virginia DMME to address legacy mining features that degrade one of our
nation’s most treasured river systems.”

Through land management, innovative science and a diverse set of effective
partnerships, the Conservancy works to protect unique and fragile lands and
waters for present and future generations.

Spanning 2,200 square miles in the remote mountains and valleys of
southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee, the Nature Conservancy’s
Clinch Valley Program comprises the watersheds of the Clinch, Powell and
Holston rivers. These last free-flowing rivers of the Tennessee River system
harbor more at-risk fish and mussel species than any other river in the
nation, and the highest concentration of imperiled species in the mainland
United States.

“In our own back yard is one of the most ecologically valuable regions in
the world, and we all share a collective responsibility to care for it,” said

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working
around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature
and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members
have been responsible for the protection of more than 18 million acres in the
United States and have helped preserve more than 117 million acres in Latin
America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on
the Web at http://www.nature.org.

Alpha Natural Resources is a leading supplier of high-quality Appalachian
coal to electric utilities, steel producers and heavy industry. Alpha is the
nation’s largest supplier and exporter of metallurgical coal, a key ingredient
in steel manufacturing. Alpha and its subsidiaries currently operate mining
complexes in four states, consisting of 60 mines supplying 10 coal preparation
and blending plants. The company and its subsidiaries employ more than 3,800
people. Visit Alpha on the web at http://www.alphanr.com.

ANRG

SOURCE Alpha Natural Resources