Exhibit 99.1
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| PRESS RELEASE | | | | |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | | | | CONTACT: |
| | | | Brian L. Cantrell |
| | | | Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. |
| | | | 1717 South Boulder Avenue, Suite 400 |
| | | | Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119 |
| | | | (918) 295-7673 |
ALLIANCE RESOURCE PARTNERS, L.P.
Announces Resumption of Production Operations at Dotiki Mine
TULSA, OKLAHOMA, May 4, 2010 – Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) today announced that, following a series of rigorous safety inspections and reviews, officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing (OMSL), along with employees of ARLP’s subsidiary, Webster County Coal, LLC determined that the Dotiki mine could safely resume operations and production began early this morning. Operations had been idled since a roof fall accident that occurred at approximately 10:00 pm on Wednesday, April 28, 2010. “Our internal investigation to date indicates that the roof fall was an unpredictable accident involving unforeseeable geological conditions,” said Charlie Wesley, Executive Vice President of Webster County Coal and a former Dotiki miner. “We will continue to cooperate fully with the MSHA and OMSL as they complete their investigations.”
The accident claimed the lives of two Dotiki miners, Justin Travis and Michael Carter. “We ask that you join us as we continue to pray for, think about, and extend support to the families of these dedicated men,” said Wesley. “We also ask that you keep our entire Dotiki family in your thoughts and prayers as we have each felt the impact of this terrible tragedy.”
“As we mourn the loss of these two brave men,” Wesley stated, “we remain proud of the Dotiki miners and our safety record. This tragic accident is the only event of its kind in our forty-four years of operating at Dotiki. Our lost-time-injury rate for the past five years is 48% below the industry average.”
Dotiki, the largest mine in Kentucky and one of the largest underground mines in the United States, employs more than 400 miners and has almost 600 miles of ventilated underground tunnel – longer than the distance from the Dotiki mine near Madisonville, Kentucky to Washington, D.C.
Commenting on the mine’s compliance record Wesley stated, “It is unfortunate that some have misunderstood citation statistics, ignoring varying mine sizes and the regulatory structure under which we operate. Since the pure number of citations greatly depends on the size of the mine, a much more relevant measure is the number of citations per inspection day. Dotiki’s citation rate per inspection day is 43% below the industry average. Perhaps more importantly, in 2009 and 2010, Dotiki has not had a single unwarrantable failure citation or, prior to this accident, been closed a single time by either federal or Kentucky inspectors.” Wesley concluded, “Our culture of safety is strong. We have families that have sent three generations to work in the Dotiki mine. I know these miners care, they represent themselves and safety is their top priority.”
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About Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.
ARLP is a diversified producer and marketer of coal to major United States utilities and industrial users. As the nation’s only publicly traded master limited partnership involved in the production and marketing of coal, ARLP is currently the fifth largest coal producer in the eastern United States with mining operations in the Illinois Basin, Northern Appalachian and Central Appalachian coal producing regions. ARLP operates nine mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia and is also constructing a new mining complex in West Virginia. In addition, ARLP operates a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mount Vernon, Indiana.
News, unit prices and additional information about ARLP, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are available athttp://www.arlp.com.For more information, contact the investor relations department of ARLP at (918) 295-7674 or via e-mail at investorrelations@arlp.com.
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The statements and projections used throughout this release are based on current expectations. These statements and projections are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. These projections do not include the potential impact of any mergers, acquisitions or other business combinations that may occur after the date of this release. At the end of this release, we have included more information regarding business risks that could affect our results.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: With the exception of historical matters, any matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to, the following: increased competition in coal markets and our ability to respond to the competition; decreases in coal prices, which could adversely affect our operating results and cash flows; risks associated with the expansion of our operations and properties; deregulation of the electric utility industry or the effects of any adverse change in the coal industry, electric utility industry, or general economic conditions; dependence on significant customer contracts, including renewing customer contracts upon expiration of existing contracts; weakness in global economic conditions or in industries in which our customers operate; liquidity constraints, including those resulting from the cost or unavailability of financing due to current capital market conditions; customer bankruptcies, cancellations or breaches to existing contracts, or other failures to perform; customer delays, failure to take coal under contracts or defaults in making payments; adjustments made in price, volume or terms to existing coal supply agreements; fluctuations in coal demand, prices and availability due to labor and transportation costs and disruptions, equipment availability, governmental regulations, including those related to carbon dioxide emissions, and other factors; legislation, regulatory and court decisions and interpretations thereof, including issues related to climate change and miner health and safety; our productivity levels and margins that we earn on our coal sales; greater than expected increases in raw material costs; greater than expected shortage of skilled labor; our ability to maintain satisfactory relations with our employees; any unanticipated increases in labor costs, adverse changes in work rules, or unexpected cash payments associated with post-mine reclamation and workers’ compensation claims; any unanticipated increases in transportation costs and risk of transportation delays or interruptions; greater than expected environmental regulation, costs and liabilities; a variety of operational, geologic, permitting, labor and weather-related factors; risks associated with major mine-related accidents, such as mine fires, or interruptions; results of litigation, including claims not yet asserted; difficulty maintaining our surety bonds for mine reclamation as well as workers’ compensation and black lung benefits; difficulty in making accurate assumptions and projections regarding pension and other post-retirement benefit liabilities; coal market’s share of electricity generation, including as a result of environmental concerns related to coal mining and combustion and the cost and perceived benefits of alternative sources of energy, such as natural gas, nuclear energy and renewable fuels; replacement of coal reserves; a loss or reduction of benefits from certain tax credits; difficulty obtaining commercial property insurance, and risks associated with our participation (excluding any applicable deductible) in the commercial insurance property program.
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Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in ARLP’s public periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including ARLP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, filed on February 26, 2010 with the SEC. Except as required by applicable securities laws, ARLP does not intend to update its forward-looking statements.
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