Waratah Coal Confirms Worley Parsons Appointment to Galilee Basin Coal Project

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, Jul 21, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) --

Waratah Coal (TSX VENTURE: WCI) today announced that it has engaged energy and resources engineering company Worley Parsons as lead consultant and project manager for its proposed A$5.3B mine, rail and port development in Central Queensland, Australia. Waratah Coal President and CEO Peter Lynch said "we are glad to have secured the services of such a highly regarded and experienced group, they have recently delivered an iconic iron ore project of similar scale in Western Australia."

Waratah Coal is proposing a large scale export thermal coal mine in the Galilee Basin, linked by a new heavy haul rail line to a purpose built export facility on the Central Queensland Coast. The port would be the first new coal export facility built in Australia for 25 years and open up the Galilee Basin coal potential for export.

Last week, the project was given support by the Queensland Government, which declared it to be "State Significant" under the Public Works and Organisation Act 1971, which assists in the fast tracking of critical infrastructure projects. When announcing the declaration in the Queensland state Parliament, the premier Ms Anna Bligh said "This extraordinary project consists of a new mine near Alpha with the potential to produce 25 million tonnes of thermal coal for export per annum."

Worley Parsons has been supporting Waratah Coal over the past twelve months on Galilee Basin Project. Worley Parsons has undertaken scoping studies and initial investigations into the project's infrastructure options, as well as provide assistance to Waratah in their early approvals process for the project.

Worley Parsons recently completed the initial phase of the Fortescue Metals Group's A$2.8B iron ore development project in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia. The project involved the rapid development of a 45 Mtpa iron ore mine and its associated infrastructure, with 256km of new rail and rolling stock linking the mine to a new export port and stockpile facility at Port Headland. The Fortescue project has similar statistics to Waratah's proposed Galilee Basin development.

As Waratah progresses with their development of the Galilee Basin, Worley Parsons will continue to support the project by providing ongoing engineering and project management services as Waratah's lead consultant. Worley Parsons CEO, Mr John Grill, said "The development of Waratah Coal's Galilee Basin coal project is a significant opportunity for Waratah Coal. Worley Parsons looks forward to continuing our relationship with Waratah on this exciting project."

The declaration of the project as "state significant" by the Queensland Government and the appointment of Worley Parsons is a critical milestone for the project. This marks the formal commencement of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and pre-feasibility study.

Waratah Coal commenced drilling its Exploration Permits Coal (EPCs) in the Galilee Basin in March 2007, and now has six drill rigs employed delineating its potential coal project. Waratah currently has total 43-101 compliant Inferred coal Resources of 4.355Bt in the Galilee Basin.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("the U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available

Cautionary language:

Except for the historical and present factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, including words such as "expects", "projects", "plans", "anticipates" and similar expressions, are forward-looking information that represents management of Waratah Coal's internal projections, expectations or beliefs concerning, among other things, future operating results and various components thereof or the economic performance of Waratah Coal. The projections, estimates and beliefs contained in such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Waratah Coal's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, those described in Waratah Coal's filings with the Canadian securities authorities. Accordingly, holders of Waratah Coal shares and potential investors are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted. Waratah Coal disclaims any responsibility to update these forward-looking statements.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release

Contacts: Waratah Coal Peter Lynch President and CEO +61 7 3303 0692 Email: plynch@waratahcoal.com Waratah Coal Liam Behnke Investor Relations +61 7 3303 0676 Email: lbehnke@waratahcoal.com Website: www.waratahcoal.com

SOURCE: Waratah Coal Inc.

mailto:plynch@waratahcoal.com mailto:lbehnke@waratahcoal.com http://www.waratahcoal.com

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