ST. LOUIS, March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peabody Energy today announced new positions for its office in Beijing. Russell Phillips has been named Vice President of Engineering for Peabody China, and Pan Wanze has joined Peabody's international sales and trading subsidiary, COALTRADE International, as Commercial Operations Manager for China. Phillips will report to President of Peabody China Mark N. Schroeder. He will be responsible for engineering-related services and will assist in evaluating commercial opportunities. He will be based in Peabody's Beijing office. Phillips brings nearly 35 years of experience in managing coal mining operations, most recently serving as Chief Representative for Anglo American's Anglo Coal operations in Beijing, China. He also served as General Manager of Anglo Coal's Xiwan Coal project in the Shaanxi Province. Phillips holds a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia and a Diploma of Applied Geology from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Pan will report to COALTRADE International Director of Trading for China Phil Smith. Pan will be responsible for coordinating commercial contacts for all marketing, sales and trading opportunities for import and export coal in China. He will also be based in Peabody's Beijing office. Pan brings 25 years of experience in foreign trade in the coal industry. He began his career with China National Coal Import and Export Corporation (CNCIEC) as a Sales Coordinator importing coal mining machines and equipment for use in the Chinese coal industry. In 1995, he was appointed Chief Representative of CNCIEC's Europe office and President of Sineuro S.A. in Belgium, selling Chinese coal to European customers. Since 2000, he has held various positions with China Coal Group, most recently as General Manager of the International Cooperation Department. Pan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Peking University. China is the world's fastest-growing major economy, representing half the world's growth in raw materials and more than one-third of global coal demand. Peabody opened its Beijing office in the fall of 2005 and began its trading activities in China earlier this year. Peabody Energy is the world's largest private-sector coal company, with 2006 sales of 248 million tons of coal and $5.3 billion in revenues. Its coal products fuel approximately 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and more than 2 percent of worldwide electricity. Peabody serves more than 400 customers in 20 countries from a global portfolio of operations. Use of the words "Peabody," "the company" and "our" relate to Peabody, our subsidiaries and our majority-owned affiliates. CONTACT: Derrell Carter (314) 342-7667 DATASOURCE: Peabody Energy CONTACT: Derrell Carter of Peabody Energy, +1-314-342-7667 Web site: http://www.peabodyenergy.com/

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