Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. Confirms Surface Fire Near Warrior Mine; Operations Temporarily Idled

Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. today confirmed reports of a surface equipment fire near the Warrior mine operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary Warrior Coal, LLC (“Warrior”) near the city of Madisonville in Hopkins County, Kentucky. At approximately 4:45 a.m. Central Standard Time this morning, a drilling rig operating at the surface of the Warrior mining complex caught fire as it was drilling a hole from the surface to intersect a worked out area within the Warrior mine.

The fire occurred when the rig’s drill was operating at a depth of approximately 420 feet below the surface or approximately 300 feet above the Warrior mine workings. Consequently, the underground workings of the Warrior mine were not affected by the rig fire. The two workers operating the rig were transported to a local hospital for treatment; one has been released and the other remains under observation.

The drilling activity was being conducted, pursuant to a plan approved by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) and Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing (“OMSL”), as part of Warrior’s efforts to address adverse conditions caused by a roof convergence, commonly referred to as a “squeeze.” Warrior evacuated the mine Wednesday evening, January 12, after the roof convergence disrupted ventilation in the area of the squeeze.

Warrior, in cooperation with MSHA and OMSL, is developing a plan for constructing seals to isolate the area of the mine affected by the squeeze. Once final approval has been obtained, Warrior will begin implementation of this plan. Although operations at Warrior will remain idled until it is safe to resume production, mine personnel do not presently anticipate mine production to be idled for an extended period. ARLP does not currently anticipate that these events will have a material adverse impact on the Partnership’s results.

The Warrior mine employs approximately 381 workers producing high-sulfur coal from the West Kentucky No. 11 coal seam utilizing continuous mining units and room-and-pillar techniques. The Warrior mine produced approximately 6.3 million tons in 2009 and 4.5 million tons through the first nine months of 2010.