Peabody Energy Announces International Projects, Business Development and Operations Appointments

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Peabody Energy announced today it has named Gerry Brophy Chief Project Officer - Australia and Keith Downham Vice President of Resource Development - Indonesia to advance the company's growth and business goals. Ian Livingstone-Blevins also was named General Manager at the Wilpinjong Mine in New South Wales, Australia.

-- Gerry Brophy will direct and manage Peabody's Australian project
management teams with responsibility for the engineering and
construction of new mining operations. Peabody is advancing multiple
organic growth projects across Queensland and New South Wales, and
continues to target 35 million to 40 million tons per year of sales by
2014 to 2015. He will report to Group Executive - Project Development
Kemal Williamson. Brophy brings more than 35 years of experience
across project, operations and engineering management in mining and
heavy industry. Most recently, Brophy served as General Manager -
Project Development for the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal
project at the Port of Gladstone in Queensland, a $2 billion project
to expand long-term export capacity. Prior to this, he held roles of
Group Head of Projects and Engineering, and Head of Growth and
Strategy for global miner Anglo Coal Australia as well as Engineering
Manager for the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance. His previous
experience includes project management and engineering roles with
Hatch Associates, Fluor Daniel and Swan Wooster Fawbert. He earned
his Management of Business Diploma from the University of Pretoria in
South Africa and a Bachelor of Science honors degree in mechanical
engineering from Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
-- Keith Downham will have responsibility for identifying and evaluating
acquisitions, joint ventures and additional development opportunities
in Indonesia, reporting to President - Asia Zhenchun Shi. With more
than 25 years of experience in operations management and strategic
planning, Downham most recently served as General Manager of Peabody's
Wilpinjong Mine in New South Wales, Australia. Prior to Peabody,
Downham was Mining Manager at the Blackwater Mine, a BHP Billiton
operation; the Moura Mine, an Anglo Coal Australia mine; and the Bulga
open-cut Mine of Glencore Coal. He also worked for BHP in Australia
and Indonesia for a decade across management, continuous improvement
and engineering roles. Downham earned a Diploma of Business from the
Australian Institute of Management and his undergraduate degree in
mining engineering from the Curtin University of Technology in Perth.
-- Ian Livingstone-Blevins replaces Downham as General Manager at the
Wilpinjong Mine. He has more than 30 years of mining and operations
experience. Most recently, he was General Manager of Yancoal's
Moolarben Coal Operations, a complex of underground and open-cut mines
under development in New South Wales near Wilpinjong. He also served
as Head of Operations Services for Anglo Coal Australia and oversaw
underground and open-cut technical services, asset planning, business
improvement and geology. Prior to this, he held management roles of
increasing responsibility at a number of Anglo operations.
Livingstone-Blevins earned a Higher National Diploma in coal mining
from Technikon Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a
Bachelor's of Technology degree in mining engineering from the
University of Johannesburg. Livingstone-Blevins will report to Rob
Hammond, Senior Vice President - Operations Open Cut, Australia.

Peabody Energy

CONTACT:Meg Gallagher(314) 342-7963

Peabody Energy

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