MINE OPENING: Western Coal reopens Willow Creek coal producer

BRITISH COLUMBIA - On June 4, 2010, BC Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Hon. Blair Lekstrom and Western Coal president Keith Calder cut the ribbon to officially open the Willow Creek coal mine. Initially, the annual output will be 900,000 tonnes of metallurgical coal. More than 300 jobs will be created by 2012 as production increases.

The Willow Creek properties are located in the Pine Pass area in the Peace River District, 45 km west of Chetwynd. Western estimates they contain 29.6 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal within measured and indicated resources of 48.9 million tonnes.

Western Coal's website is at www.WesternCoal.com.