Alpha Natural Resources' Affiliated Mine Rescue Teams Take Top Honors in West Virginia Contest and Championship PR Newswire September 4, 2012 BRISTOL, Va., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR), a leading U.S. coal supplier, today announced that its affiliates' mine rescue teams took top honors at the Southern West Virginia Mine Rescue Association Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench & Preshift Contest and West Virginia State Championship.  Forty-two teams competed in the event held August 27-30th at the MSHA mine academy in Beckley, West Virginia. The first day of the event focused on first aid.  The teams were given problems and had to solve them while following proper procedures.  The teams were then put to the test with two days of mine rescue scenarios and tests.  Teams from West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Alabama participated. "These are the best of the best.  In this competition, our mine rescue teams showed how hard they work all year long.  We are proud of the work they do before, during and after an emergency," said Perry Whitley, Alpha's Director, Mine Emergency and Preparedness. These are the results for Alpha affiliated mine rescue teams: • Southern West Virginia Team #2 with Mark Bolen as captain won the West Virginia State Championship and took 1st overall; • Rockspring Gold Team with Dennis Horn as captain placed 1st on day two of the mine rescue contest and took 2nd place overall and 2nd place in the state of West Virginia; Cumberland Coal Resources, LP, Cumberland RD team with Robert Drzazgowki and Jason Layhue as captains, finished 2nd for the combination team in first aid and mine rescue; • Cumberland Coal Resources, LP, Cumberland JC team with John Chambers as captain, won 1st place on the first day of the mine rescue contest; • Jeremy McClung with Brooks Run North took home 3rd place in Bench in the state of West Virginia; • and Rob Hutchinson with the Cumberland Coal Resources, LP, Cumberland RD team placed 3rd overall in Bench. Mine rescue teams are required to complete 96 hours of training annually, but the mine rescue teams sponsored by Alpha's affiliates consistently exceed that requirement every year. About Alpha Natural Resources With $7.1 billion in total revenue in 2011, Alpha Natural Resources ranks as America's second-largest coal producer by revenue and third-largest by production.  Alpha is the nation's largest supplier of metallurgical coal used in the steel-making process and is a major supplier of thermal coal to electric utilities and manufacturing industries.  In 2011, the company had more than 200 customers on five continents.  More information about Alpha can be found on the company's Web site at www.alphanr.com. SOURCE Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.