WESTMORELAND REACHES DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO SELL
         THE ASSETS OF KENTUCKY CRITERION COAL COMPANY



Philadelphia, PA (July 28, 1994) Westmoreland Coal Company (NYSE: 
WCX) today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement 
to sell the assets of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kentucky 
Criterion Coal Company, to CONSOL of Kentucky Inc., a member of 
the CONSOL coal group, for $85 million subject to an inventory 
adjustment at closing.  The sale is subject to third-party 
consents.

A fourth-quarter closing is anticipated, and Westmoreland 
believes that its creditors will extend repayment of the 
Company's outstanding obligations of approximately $46 million 
until the closing.

The Kentucky Criterion property, which produced 1.7 million tons 
of coal in 1993, is located in parts of Letcher, Knott and Pike 
counties with headquarters in Deane, Kentucky.  It was acquired 
in 1987 from Bethlehem Steel Corporation and certain of its 
subsidiaries and is served by the CSX railroad system.

Christopher K. Seglem, Westmoreland's President and Chief 
Executive Officer said "We are very pleased with the value 
Westmoreland will receive from this sale.  These proceeds will 
assure that Westmoreland Coal Company can discharge its debt 
obligations and will significantly enhance the Company's ability 
to implement a repositioning and growth strategy to achieve 
meaningful and sustainable long-term profitability."

Westmoreland continues to mine coal in Virginia, West Virginia, 
and Montana where Westmoreland Resources Inc. recently announced 
a new long-term supply agreement with Otter Tail Power for 1.7 
million tons of coal per year.  Westmoreland Coal's other 
contract customers include Duke Power, Southern Companies, 
Virginia Power, American Electric Power, Northern State Power, 
and Western Fuels.