Waratah Coal (TSX VENTURE:WCI) (Waratah) CEO and President Peter Lynch said today the Company remains firmly committed to its plans for an export coal project in Central Queensland. The Company wants to open up a new thermal coal resource in the Galilee Basin near the Central Queensland town of Alpha. To date exploration by Waratah Coal (TSX VENTURE:WCI) has inferred over 4.3 Billion Tonnes of thermal coal resources.

The company has proposed a large scale mine linked to a new coal terminal on the coast via a railway line which would be open to third party users and free up costly bottlenecks already inhibiting Australia's coal industry. A new port, "Port Capricorn", was to be established in the southern most part of the Shoalwater Bay Defence Training Area.

On Friday the 5th of September the Federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, declared the project "clearly unacceptable" and rejected the proposal. He also added, "I would encourage Waratah Coal to consider alternative sites for the port."

In response to this Queensland Deputy Premier Paul Lucas has said:

...... "The Galilee Basin has extraordinary potential for economic development, to provide jobs and income for Queensland and Australia."

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has added:

"I would suggest to the company that if they can find an alternative location to bring this coal to port then they should consider that and resubmit it to the Federal Government"

In light of this consistent advice from Governments, Waratah Coal has met with senior Officers of the Queensland Government and commenced to further examine the various rail and port opportunities available for the development of the Galilee Basin.

Waratah Coal had examined the alternatives previously at scoping study stage and determined that the "Port Capricorn" option provided the optimum cost, capacity and timing outcome - while still allowing appropriate mitigation of environmental effects. Waratah Coal's engineering and project management team headed up by Worley Parsons will undertake the further study.

"At the same time we are not abandoning our rights under the EPBC Act in respect of Minister Garrett's purported decision," said Waratah President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Lynch.

The Galilee Basin hosts very large long term export thermal coal potential and it is important that any development of this potential is done in a fashion which provides a long term cost competitive infrastructure solution.

"The Galilee Basin is a project of national significance and an investment in the competitiveness of Australia's coal industry. The statements made to date from both the State and Federal Governments shows that they recognise that" he said.

To view the diagram showing the various infrastructure options to be studied, view this announcement on the Waratah Coal website www.waratahcoal.com.

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.

SOURCE: Waratah Coal Inc.

Waratah Coal Peter Lynch President and CEO +61 7 3303 0692 Email: plynch@waratahcoal.com Waratah Coal Michael Joyner Investor Relations - Canada (416) 368-3671 Email: mjoyner@waratahcoal.com Website: www.waratahcoal.com