CONSOL Energy’s Buchanan Mine Resumes Production

CONSOL Energy Inc.’s Buchanan Mine near Mavisdale, Va. resumed production on Tuesday, September 30, 2008, as all remaining seals in the previous area of concern are at or above 120 pounds per square inch in compliance with federal regulations.

The area in the Buchanan Mine that was being sealed is the area of the mine where a roof fall resulted in the mine being idled for nearly nine months last year. The last of 89 seals was completed on September 15th. It normally takes several weeks for seals to cure and reach their maximum strength.

The new seals, made from a specialized concrete material, meet the highest strength standard required by federal regulation to protect active areas of the mine in the event of an explosion or other event in sealed areas of the mine. A mine seal is essentially a wall of concrete or other material that blocks a tunnel opening, isolating the atmosphere in one area of the mine from another.

CONSOL Energy Inc., a high-Btu bituminous coal and coal bed methane company, is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Equity Index and has annual revenues of $3.8 billion. It has 17 bituminous coal mining complexes in six states and reports proven and probable coal reserves of 4.5 billion tons. CONSOL Energy was named one of America’s most admired companies in 2005 by Fortune magazine. It received the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining for the company’s innovative reclamation practices in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Also in 2003, the company was listed in Information Week magazine’s “Information Week 500″ list for its information technology operations. In 2002, the company received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Protection Award. Additional information about the company can be found at its web site: www.consolenergy.com.