Leer Mine Becomes First to Achieve Verification for All Protocols Under the New Towards Sustainable Mining Initiative Subscription Program

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Arch Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ARCH) today announced that the Leer mine had achieved Level A verification for all protocols comprising the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative. Leer is the first mine of any type to achieve and verify this performance level through TSM's new subscription program, which allows any mine anywhere in the world to implement this globally recognized sustainability initiative for the mining industry.

"Arch views leadership in all aspects of sustainability – including mine safety, environmental stewardship, community outreach, inclusion, and integrity – as the bedrock of its corporate culture and the key to its long-term success," said Paul A. Lang, Arch's chief executive officer and president. "On behalf of Arch's board of directors and its entire senior officer team, I want to congratulate the Leer workforce for meeting the rigorous and comprehensive requirements of the Towards Sustainable Mining initiative and – in doing so – demonstrating yet again its deep and abiding commitment to the highest standards of sustainability."

"Congratulations to Arch Resources' Leer mine for this significant accomplishment," said Pierre Gratton, Mining Association of Canada CEO. "As TSM continues to drive performance in more and more jurisdictions around the world, it is heartening to see Arch leading the way in the U.S. This kind of achievement helps demonstrate to the world that mining is not only essential, but that it can be done responsibly." 

TSM provides a set of tools and indicators that drive performance and ensure that key mining risks are managed responsibly. TSM's eight performance protocols center on indigenous and community relationships; crisis management and crisis planning; safety and health; prevention of child and forced labor; tailings management; biodiversity conservation management; water stewardship; and climate change.

Arch expects to pursue TSM verification at its other metallurgical mines starting in 2024 as it works to extend its sustainability leadership in the mining industry and to strengthen its position as a supplier of choice to an increasingly sustainability-focused global steel industry.

Arch Resources is a premier producer of high-quality metallurgical products for the global steel industry. The company operates large, modern and highly efficient mines that consistently set the industry standard for both mine safety and environmental stewardship. Arch Resources from time to time utilizes its website – www.archrsc.com – as a channel of distribution for material company information. To learn more about us and our premium metallurgical products, go to www.archrsc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended - that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and future plans, and often contain words such as "should," "could," "appears," "estimates," "projects," "targets," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "may," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "strives," "will" or variations of such words or similar words. Actual results or outcomes may vary significantly, and adversely, from those anticipated due to many factors, including: our ability to achieve TSM verification at our other metallurgical mines on the expected timeframe or at all; loss of availability, reliability and cost-effectiveness of transportation facilities and fluctuations in transportation costs; inflationary pressures and availability and price of mining and other industrial supplies; changes in coal prices, which may be caused by numerous factors beyond our control, including changes in the domestic and foreign supply of and demand for coal and the domestic and foreign demand for steel and electricity; volatile economic and market conditions; operating risks beyond our control, including risks related to mining conditions, mining, processing and plant equipment failures or maintenance problems, weather and natural disasters, the unavailability of raw materials, equipment or other critical supplies, mining accidents, and other inherent risks of coal mining that are beyond our control; the effects of foreign and domestic trade policies, actions or disputes on the level of trade among the countries and regions in which we operate, the competitiveness of our exports, or our ability to export; competition, both within our industry and with producers of competing energy sources, including the effects from any current or future legislation or regulations designed to support, promote or mandate renewable energy sources; alternative steel production technologies that may reduce demand for our coal; our ability to secure new coal supply arrangements or to renew existing coal supply arrangements; the loss of, or significant reduction in, purchases by our largest customers; disruptions in the supply of coal from third parties; risks related to our international growth; our relationships with, and other conditions affecting our customers and our ability to collect payments from our customers; the availability and cost of surety bonds; including potential collateral requirements; we may not have adequate insurance coverage for some business risks; additional demands for credit support by third parties and decisions by banks, surety bond providers, or other counterparties to reduce or eliminate their exposure to the coal industry; inaccuracies in our estimates of our coal reserves; defects in title or the loss of a leasehold interest; losses as a result of certain marketing and asset optimization strategies; cyber-attacks or other security breaches that disrupt our operations, or that result in the unauthorized release of proprietary, confidential or personally identifiable information; our ability to acquire or develop coal reserves in an economically feasible manner; our ability to pay dividends or repurchase shares of our common stock according to our announced intent or at all; the loss of key personnel or the failure to attract additional qualified personnel and the availability of skilled employees and other workforce factors; existing and future legislation and regulations affecting both our coal mining operations and our customers' coal usage, governmental policies and taxes, including those aimed at reducing emissions of elements such as mercury, sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter or greenhouse gases; increased pressure from political and regulatory authorities, along with environmental and climate change activist groups, and lending and investment policies adopted by financial institutions and insurance companies to address concerns about the environmental impacts of coal combustion; increased attention to environmental, social or governance matters ("ESG"); our ability to obtain and renew various permits necessary for our mining operations; risks related to regulatory agencies ordering certain of our mines to be temporarily or permanently closed under certain circumstances; risks related to extensive environmental regulations that impose significant costs on our mining operations and could result in litigation or material liabilities; the accuracy of our estimates of reclamation and other mine closure obligations; the existence of hazardous substances or other environmental contamination on property owned or used by us; and risks related to tax legislation. All forward-looking statements in this press release, as well as all other written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained in this section and elsewhere in this press release. These factors are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to vary significantly, and adversely, from those anticipated at the time such statements were first made. These risks and uncertainties, as well as other risks of which we are not aware or which we currently do not believe to be material, may cause our actual future results and outcomes to be materially, and adversely, different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements.

In addition, historical, current, and forward-looking ESG-related statements may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, and internal controls and processes that continue to evolve. With respect to ESG information that pertains to our third-party vendors, suppliers and partners, we often rely on such third-parties' data and do not independently verify or audit, or commit to independently verifying or auditing, their information. Such information may also change over time as methodologies and data availability and quality continue to evolve. These factors, as well as any inaccuracies in third-party information we use, including in estimates or assumptions, may cause results to differ materially and adversely from statements, estimates and beliefs made by us or third parties. For these reasons, readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements were made, and we do not undertake, and expressly disclaim, any duty to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by the federal securities laws. For a description of some of the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future results, you should see the risk factors described from time to time in the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Arch Resources, Inc.