NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P.
601 JEFFERSON ST., SUITE 3600, HOUSTON, TX 77002                      [NRP LOGO]


NEWS RELEASE

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                         NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P.
                      ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF PUBLIC OFFERING
                        AND RESIGNATION OF ARCH DIRECTOR


HOUSTON, MARCH 16, 2004 - NATURAL RESOURCE PARTNERS L.P. (NYSE: NRP) today
reported the closing of its public offering of 5,250,000 common units. In
conjunction with the closing of this offering, David B. Peugh has resigned from
the board of directors.

Prior to the offering, Arch Coal had the right to designate two directors to the
board of directors for so long as Arch continued to hold at least 10% of the
common units of Natural Resource Partners. Because a portion of the proceeds
from the offering were used to redeem 2,616,752 common units from Arch, Arch
currently holds approximately 2% of the common units outstanding. Consequently,
Arch no longer has the right to designate any directors, and Mr. Peugh has
resigned from the board. Mr. Robert B. Karn III, the independent director
originally designated by Arch, will remain on the board and will continue to
serve as chairman of NRP's audit committee.

"David Peugh has made a great contribution to the board of directors of NRP, and
as Arch is a major lessee, we will continue to enjoy a close relationship," said
Corbin J. Robertson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NRP.
Natural Resource Partners L.P. is headquartered in Houston, TX, with its
operations headquarters in Huntington, WV. NRP is a master limited partnership
that is principally engaged in the business of owning and managing coal
properties in the three major coal producing regions of the United States:
Appalachia, the Illinois Basin and the Powder River Basin.
For additional information, please contact Kathy Hager at 713-751-7555 or
khager@nrplp.com. Further information about NRP is available on the
partnership's website at http://www.nrplp.com.


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