CHARLESTON, W.Va., Oct. 10, 2012 -- Arch Coal, Inc. today announced that Mingo Logan's Mountain Laurel team won first place at the Nationwide Mine Rescue Skills competition held Oct. 1-5 in Beckley, W.Va.

Mountain Laurel's green rescue team took first place among all Division 1 teams. In addition to taking home top honors overall, the Mountain Laurel team also finished first in firefighting and first in mine rescue field problems.

Only qualifying teams that ranked among the best at an earlier regional competition were eligible to participate in the nationwide competition. Mountain Laurel's green team qualified by placing first in the West Virginia Alliance Mine Rescue Contest held in May.

“This is another outstanding finish for Mountain Laurel's emergency responders,” said Kenneth D. Cochran, Arch's senior vice president of operations. “Training and competing sharpen our skills and further our focus on mine safety.”

U.S.-based Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) is a top five global coal producer and marketer. Arch is the most diversified American coal company, with mining complexes across every major U.S. coal supply basin. Its core business is supplying cleaner-burning, low-sulfur thermal and metallurgical coal to power generators and steel manufacturers on five continents. In 2011, Arch continued to lead the U.S. coal industry in safety performance and environmental compliance among large, diversified producers.