Atlantic Coal plc / Index: AIM / Epic: ATC / Sector: Mining 18 April 2012 Atlantic Coal plc ("Atlantic" or the "Company") Production Update Atlantic Coal plc, the AIM listed open cast coal production and processing company with activities in Pennsylvania, USA, is pleased to announce a production update for the three months ended 31 March 2011 from the Stockton Colliery ("Stockton"), its opencast anthracite operation in Pennsylvania. Production at Stockton increased 12% to 31,729 tons of clean coal during Q1 2012 compared to the equivalent period in 2011 (Q1 2011: 28,376).

During the period Atlantic removed 715,691 bank cubic yards ("BCY") of overburden (Q1 2011: 658,785).

85,911 tons of run of mine coal was washed (Q1 2011: 62,000). Demand for Stocktons high quality anthracite remains strong with production from Pennsylvanian anthracite mines struggling to meet demand.

As a result there has been a substantial increase in the average sale price of Pennsylvanian anthracite with a Q1 2012 average price of $166.30 per ton compared with a Q1 2011 price of $134.25, an increase of approximately 24%. Production Summary: Run-of-mine washed (tons) Overburden Removed (bank cubic yards) Clean Coal Production (tons) Average Price per ton (US$) 85,911 715,691 31,729 166.30
Atlantic Managing Director, Steve Best, said, "I am pleased to report that production at Stockton during the first quarter of 2012 has been steady and that we have experienced an increase in comparison to Q1 2011.

As announced earlier today, the railroad diversion is now complete allowing the working of over approximately 1.0 million tons of coal of previously unworkable reserves, which will enable us to increase production at the mine over the coming months." **ENDS** For further information on the Company, visit www.atlanticcoal.com or contact: Steve Best Atlantic Coal plc Tel: 020 3328 5670 Nick Naylor Allenby Capital Limited Tel: 020 3328 5656 Mark Connelly Allenby Capital Limited Tel: 020 3328 5656 Simon Leathers Fox-Davies Capital Limited Tel: 020 3463 5010 Andy Frangos Cornhill Capital Ltd Tel: 020 7710 9618 Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7236 1177 Elisabeth Cowell St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7236 1177
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