This press release is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase, a solicitation of an offer to purchase or a solicitation of a consent with respect to any of the Notes. The tender offer and the consent solicitation are being made pursuant to the tender offer and the consent solicitation documents, including the Offer to Purchase that the Company is distributing to holders of Notes. The tender offer and the consent solicitation are not being made to holders of Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain statements in this press release, and other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of us are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding future events and developments and our future performance, as well as management's expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of these laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the risk that the business of IRP will not be integrated successfully with our businesses or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; uncertainty of our expected financial performance following completion of the proposed transaction; our ability to achieve the cost savings and synergies contemplated by the proposed transaction within the expected time frame; disruption from the proposed transaction making it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; changes in the demand for coal by electric utility customers; the loss of one or more of our largest customers; inability to secure new coal supply agreements or to extend existing coal supply agreements at market prices; failure to exploit additional coal reserves, including reserves contiguous to those currently held by our Midwest operations; increased capital expenditures; encountering difficult mining conditions; increased compliance costs; bottlenecks or other difficulties in transporting coal to our customers; delays in the development of new mining projects; increased costs of raw materials; lack of availability of financing sources; the effects of litigation, regulation and competition; and the other risks detailed in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, you should not place undue reliance on such statements. These statements are based on current expectations and speak only as of the date of such statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.