ST. LOUIS (October 4, 2007) – Mark Bunnell, Mike Lincoln and Matt Workman, all geologists for Arch Coal, Inc., have Earth Science Week – October 14-20 – marked on their calendars.

It isn't a high profile holiday week, the three acknowledge, but it is one that they feel is very important.

Arch Coal Foundation President Deck Slone agrees. "In the coal mining business, a geologist has very important responsibilities because mine safety and productivity as well as future mining operations require information developed by the mine geologist," he says.

Slone, who also is Arch Coal's vice president of investor relations and public affairs, says Bunnell, Lincoln and Workman attribute their career choice to exceptional teachers. Honoring the special role of exceptional teachers is an important area of interest for the Arch Coal Foundation.

"Mr. Williams, who was very skilled at getting students involved in his classes at Carbon High School, introduced me to the subject and I started filling my bedroom with rocks and minerals I collected in the nearby desert. At the College of Eastern Utah in Price, Don Burge was the professor that really got me hooked on geology," says Bunnell, who is a senior geologist for Arch Coal, living in Price, Utah.

Lincoln, who heads geologic operations in the west for Arch Coal, works in Wyoming and has a special connection to the earth sciences. His father was an earth sciences teacher. "I guess it was always around me at home," Lincoln says. "Also, I had a number of good teachers throughout school and in the Geology Department at the University of Northern Colorado."

Workman remembers Charles Thompson, who taught at Ft. Gay junior and senior high schools in West Virginia. "He taught earth and life sciences. His hands-on approach to the sciences, such as field trips, got me interested in geology," says Workman, a senior geologist. "I've always enjoyed being outdoors and working with my hands, so there was a natural attraction to the field.

"Dr. Ghosh at Marshall University (Huntington, W.Va.) was an excellent teacher," says Workman. "I especially remember a field trip several of us took with Dr. Ghosh over a spring break, when we spent the entire time studying the geology of Big Bend National Park in Texas."

"I suspect that everyone can remember a special teacher," says Slone. "The Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Awards program provides an opportunity for people in West Virginia, Wyoming and Carbon, Emery, Sevier and Sanpete counties of Utah to tell us about excellent teachers in their area."

The public nominates teachers for the prestigious classroom teacher awards program. Each recipient receives a $2,500 personal, cash award. Nomination forms are available in schools and at a number of public locations. Nominations also may be submitted online at www.archteacherawards.com.

This year's Earth Science Week is the tenth sponsored by the American Geological Institute, with a theme "The Pulse of Earth Science." Organizers hope that public awareness of earth sciences becomes greater and that the week will help spread understanding of the impact the earth sciences have on society.

The week also will be recognizing the efforts of students who have competed in contests about earth sciences. More information is available at http://www.earthsciweek.org/.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal is one of the nation's largest coal producers. The company's core business is providing U.S. power generators with clean-burning, low-sulfur coal for electric generation. Through its national network of mines, Arch supplies the fuel for approximately 6 percent of the electricity generated in the United States.