EastCoal Inc.: Appointment to Board and Option Grant

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire - July 6, 2011) - EastCoal Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ECX) (the "Company" or "EastCoal") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Abraham (Braam) Jonker to its Board of Directors.

Mr. Jonker is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa and England and Wales) and holds a Masters degree in South African and International Tax from the Rand Afrikaans University. He has over 17 years of extensive accounting and corporate finance experience, mostly in the mining industry. He has worked as a consultant to the mining sector in Africa, spent time with Mwana Africa Plc, and with the corporate finance departments at Anglo American Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Jonker was the Chief Financial Officer of Cambrian Mining Plc. and most recently the Chief Financial Officer of Western Coal Corp. He is currently the Interim Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mandalay Resources Corporation.

John Byrne, the Company's President, states, "We are pleased to welcome Braam to the Board. His banking and finance expertise will assist the Company as it moves towards production."

Mr. Jonker replaces Mr. John Newton on the Board. A director since August 2005, Mr. Newton helped to guide the Company in a new direction, the development of coal operations in the Donbass coal basin of Ukraine. The Board and management of EastCoal wish to thank Mr. Newton for his years of service and dedication.

Further, a total of 750,000 stock options have been granted to a director of the Company at a price of $0.70 for a period of five years, subject to regulatory approval.


By Order of the Board,

John Byrne
President



About EastCoal Inc.

The Company changed its name to EastCoal Inc. in early 2011, to reflect its new strategy of developing coal operations. It is focused on the Donbass coal basin of Ukraine which has large coal reserves and excellent prospects.

EastCoal Inc. is currently developing its 100% owned Verticalnaya anthracite mine.



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Contact Information

EastCoal Inc.
John Byrne, Chairman and CEO
604-681-8069
604-685-4675 (FAX)
www.eastcoal.ca