Coal

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National Coal Corp. Acquires Baldwin Facility
Tuesday August 2, 6:42 pm ET

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2005--National Coal Corp. (Nasdaq: NCOC - News), an Appalachian Region coal producer, today announced the acquisition by its wholly-owned subsidiary, National Coal Corporation, of one permitted mine, a preparation plant, haul road and other miscellaneous assets (the "Baldwin Facility") located within the boundaries of the Company's coal reserves in Devonia, Tennessee. National Coal Corp. previously leased a portion of these facilities.
The acquisition of the Baldwin Facility will allow the Company to undertake improvements designed to increase production capacity and improve utilization of resources in its Tennessee operations. The acquisition follows steady production increases reported in Q4 2004 and Q1 2005 and the addition of two significant sales contracts in Q1 2005, and should enable the Company to meet the increasing demand for coal from its existing and potential customers.

"It is another step forward - one that's going to help us continue escalating our consistent track record of growth," stated Jon Nix, president, CEO and chairman of the board at National Coal. "To that end, the most significant part of this acquisition is the Baldwin preparation plant and loadout facility, which is ideally located near a large portion of our reserves and provides the opportunity to significantly grow our production in Tennessee."

National Coal acquired the Baldwin Facility by assuming current liabilities of the seller consisting of outstanding reclamation bond obligations of approximately $1,000,000.

About National Coal Corp.

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., National Coal Corp., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, National Coal Corporation, is engaged in coal mining in Eastern Tennessee and Southeastern Kentucky. For more information visit www.nationalcoal.com.

This release contains statements that are "forward-looking" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current estimates and projections about National Coal's business, which are derived in part on assumptions of its management, and are not guarantees of future performance, as such performance is difficult to predict. Examples of forward looking-statements include the increase in coal production resulting from the acquired property, the increase in the demand for coal, and continued escalation of quarterly revenue growth. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to, National Coal's ability to rapidly and efficiently integrate the acquired operations into its existing operations, the demand for coal, the price of coal, the supply of coal and other competitive factors, the costs to mine and transport coal, the ability to obtain new mining permits, the costs of reclamation of previously mined properties, and the risks of expanding coal production. These and other risks are more fully described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-KSB and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB, which should be read in conjunction herewith for a further discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.

Contact:
National Coal Corp., Knoxville
Rob Pardue, 865-690-6900
[e-mail]
www.nationalcoal.com
or
Cunningham & Company
Christine Pietryla, 312-334-9037
[e-mail]

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