ABINGDON, Va., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paul Shortridge, an underground coal miner at the Cucumber, W.Va. mine of the Brooks Run Mining Company, LLC, was presented with a $25,000 gift as a result of his participation in a wellness screening program. At a surprise ceremony at the mine, Shortridge was presented with the prize by Kevin Crutchfield, CEO of Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:ANR). Brooks Run is an Alpha subsidiary company. In making the presentation, Crutchfield said, "We initiated the AlphaZone Wellness Program in 2006 throughout our organization to help employees of all our affiliated companies get and stay healthy through annual screenings. The first step in illness prevention is detection of risk factors for a wide range of medical conditions. With these health screening results, an employee can work with his or her physician to address identified health issues before they become potentially dangerous problems." To encourage participation, the program offered prizes for participation, including the grand prize of $25,000, which was awarded on the basis of a drawing. All employees of Alpha's subsidiaries who participated in AlphaZone were eligible for the grand prize. This year, 2,346 employees were screened. The Brooks Run participation rate was over 97 percent. Shortridge, 46, has been a roof bolter at the Cucumber mine for more than three years. After being identified as the grand prize winner, he said, "I was really surprised to win $25,000 for participating in a program that I really believe in. I did the program before and I expect to continue to do the screenings when they are offered. I hope that another miner gets to win a big prize in the future. I don't know what I will buy, but I look forward to figuring it out." The wellness screenings are conducted by an independent health care firm that provides the confidential test results only to the individual participant. Participation in the program is completely voluntary and has grown steadily each year. This year, employee spouses also were invited to participate in the program. Photos and videotape availability Photos and a videotape of the grand prize presentation are available to the media upon request. See media contact information in this release. A YouTube video has been posted to the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx0DnPv-N-0 About Alpha Natural Resources Alpha Natural Resources is one of America's premier coal suppliers with affiliate coal production capacity of more than 90 million tons a year. Alpha is the nation's leading supplier and exporter of metallurgical coal used in the steel-making process and is a major supplier of thermal coal to electric utilities and manufacturing industries across the country. The company, through its affiliates, employs approximately 6,200 people and operates more than 60 mines and 14 coal preparation facilities in the regions of Northern and Central Appalachia and the Powder River Basin. More information about Alpha can be found on the company's Web site at http://www.alphanr.com/. DATASOURCE: Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. CONTACT: Ted Pile, +1-276-623-2920, , or Rick Nida, +1-276-739-5304, , both of Alpha Natural Resources Web Site: http://www.alphanr.com/

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