Peabody Energy Realigns Engineering Management and Hires Jeane L. Hull to Head Engineering and Technical Services

ST. LOUIS, May 8  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peabody Energy announced today that Jeane L. Hull has joined the company in the new position of Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technical Services.  Hull will report to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Ford and will be responsible for the global delivery of engineering, environmental, geology and design and construction services at Peabody.

Hull was most recently Chief Operating Officer for Kennecott Utah Copper, with responsibility for its mine, concentrator, smelter and refinery, as well as supporting its 165 megawatt power plant.  In this role, she also managed technical services and project engineering, as well as the health, safety and environmental functions.

She has held numerous management positions with Rio Tinto and affiliates, including 13 years with Kennecott Energy, where she served as Vice President of Operations for Kennecott Utah Copper, Vice President of Technical Services and Business Improvement and General Manager of Spring Creek Coal, as well as other engineering and operations positions.  Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Hull spent 12 years with Mobil Mining and Minerals and Mobil Chemical Company, including 10 years with a Powder River Basin coal mine.  Hull has additional engineering, environmental and regulatory affairs experience in the public and private sector.  She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and an MBA from Nova University in Florida.  She is a registered professional engineer.

Reporting to Hull are Vice President of Engineering Jay W. Honse, Vice President of Geology John A. Rusnack, Vice President of Environmental Mark R. Yingling, Director of Design and Construction Engineering Carl Consalus and Senior Manager of Engineering Financial Support Mark A. Blom.

  --  Jay W. Honse has been promoted to Vice President of Engineering.
      Honse joined Peabody in 1980 and has held various engineering
      positions at the operating and corporate level, and most recently held
      the position of Director of Engineering.  He has a Bachelor of Science
      degree in Mining Engineering from West Virginia University in
      Morgantown and is a registered professional engineer.  He will be
      responsible for mine planning and general engineering services.
      Reporting to Honse are Director of Engineering Lloyd A. Short, Senior
      Manager of Engineering Neil Yake and Manager of Engineering Services
      Darrell J. Trent.

  --  John A. Rusnak has been named Vice President of Geology.  He joined
      Peabody in 1987 as a geologist and most recently held the position of
      Vice President of Engineering.  He will oversee the geology function
      for Peabody's worldwide operations.  Rusnak holds a Bachelor of
      Science degree in Earth Sciences from Pennsylvania State University
      and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.  He is a
      registered professional engineer in West Virginia.  Reporting to
      Rusnak are Chief Geologist - Reserve Reporting Marc S. Silverman;
      Senior Geologists Robert Y. Willson and Colin A. Henkes; Director of
      Coal Preparation Support and Quality Control Phillip G. Davis;
      Manager of Exploration and Geology Philip R. Ames and Senior Engineer
      - Ground Control Murali M. Gadde.

  --  Mark R. Yingling has been named Vice President of Environmental.  He
      has over 20 years of mining engineering experience, primarily with
      Peabody subsidiary Black Beauty Coal Company.  He has served as Vice
      President of Environmental and Engineering for Peabody since April of
      2004.  Yingling will be responsible for environmental services
      including environmental regulatory issues, reclamation and bonding
      activities and permitting at Peabody locations in the United States.
      Yingling has a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering
      from the University of Illinois and is a Registered Professional
      Engineer in several states.  Reporting to Yingling are Director of
      Regulatory Affairs Eric P. Fry; Directors of Environmental Services
      Brian P. Dunfee, Bryce G. West, and James W. Crawford; Director of
      Conservancy Fred W. Conner and Senior Environmental Engineer Jerry
      Ripp.

  --  Carl Consalus has been named Director of Design and Construction
      Engineering.  Consalus has more than 20 years of mining engineering
      experience, including 11 years with Peabody subsidiary Black Beauty
      Coal Company.  He also held various mining engineering positions with
      Cyprus Minerals starting in 1986.  He holds a Bachelor of Science
      degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Idaho and an MBA
      from the University of Phoenix.




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.

Use of the words "Peabody," "the company" and "our" relate to Peabody, our subsidiaries and our majority-owned affiliates.

  CONTACT:
  Beth Sutton
  [phone]


DATASOURCE: Peabody Energy



CONTACT:  Beth Sutton, Peabody Energy, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.peabodyenergy.com/ 

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