“This transaction opens up new markets for our products, and also provides Patriot considerable upside in selling additional Panther coal in global metallurgical coal markets,” said Patriot CEO Richard M. Whiting. “With this sale, we now expect our 2010 met coal shipments will be more than 7 million tons, with nearly 2 million of this volume coming from the Panther mine. This represents more than a 30% increase in total met shipments over 2009 levels. Further, we expect to see additional opportunities for met coal sales to Asia as 2010 unfolds.”

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