Successor to the Dillon Mine, the Brule Mine produces ultra-low volatile pulverized coal injection (“ULV-PCI”) coal for export, primarily to Korea. ULV-PCI coal can replace up to 30% of the coke feed in the blast furnace, thereby significantly reducing steelmaking raw material costs. With its high calorific value, low ash level and volatile content of less than 15%, Burnt River ULV-PCI coal has become one of the world’s premium pulverized coal injection (“PCI”) coals.

The Brule Mine began production in January 2007. Initial mining at Brule will be conducted in a similar fashion to Dillon, with no coal processing beyond crushing, and planned production in the range of 1.2 Mt/a.  This plan requires minimal capital investment and involves mining high quality coal from low strip ratio portions of the Brule deposit. Expectations have been exceeded on Brule, with the mine now producing at a run-rate of 1.3 Mt/a.

Given current and projected market conditions, the Company is considering fully developing this property, raising production to 2.0 Mt/a by 2009.

As a result of the acquisition from Cambrian Mining plc (Western’s major shareholder) of the Willow Creek property, the Company has access to an existing wash plant and rail load-out facility. The acquisition will provide a reduction of about $70 million in capital costs included in the original estimate, thereby significantly reducing the risks in full scale Brule development.

Mining operations at the Brule Mine commenced in January 2007 following the Company’s decision to proceed with the Brule Mine development in November 2006. The Brule Mine has continued in the tradition started at the Dillon Mine. The Burnt River property has the distinction of having earned provincial safety achievement awards every year since 2004, and was awarded the John T. Ryan Safety Award, in recognition of being one of the safest coal mining operations in Canada. The Company is proud of the team and mining contractor, Pelly Construction at our Burnt River Property, for achieving this outstanding record of no lost time accidents from the very beginning of the project.

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