Peter Whittall Appointed Pike River Coal Limited (NZE:PRC) Chief Executive Officer

Wellington, Sep 14, 2010 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Pike River Coal Limited (NZE:PRC) (PINK:PKRRF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter W Whittall as Chief Executive Officer of the company, effective 2 October 2010.

Mr Whittall has held the position of General Manager-Mines since he joined Pike River at the company's Greymouth mine site in 2005. During that time he has been responsible for on-site construction, mine development, recruitment of the new operations workforce and has been closely involved with the company's recent capital raisings. He moved to the Wellington head office of Pike River earlier this year.

Mr Whittall holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) and a Masters of Business Administration both from the University of Wollongong. Prior to joining Pike River he had 24 years experience in underground coal mines for BHP Billiton's (ASX:BHP) (NYSE:BHP) Illawarra Coal including managing the Dendrobium, Tower and Appin coal mines in NSW.

Pike River Chairman John Dow welcomed Mr Whittall's appointment.

"Peter Whittall brings nearly 30 years of experience as a coal miner and coal mining executive to his new role as Pike CEO.

"He has a practical understanding of our business and as a seasoned executive is well-equipped to lead Pike River through the transition from mine development to steady-state mining operations."

Contact

John Dow Chairman Peter Whittall CEO designate Tel: +64-4-494-0190 http://www.pike.co.nz