Walter Energy Updates Production Outlook and Announces Executive Appointments

BIRMINGHAM, AL, Jan 13 (MARKET WIRE) --
Walter Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WLT) (TSX: WLT), the world's leading, publicly
traded "pure play" producer of metallurgical (met) coal for the global
steel industry, today provided guidance that 2012 met coal production
will be between 11.5 million and 13 million metric tons. Also, Walter
Energy, Inc. (Walter) commented on fourth quarter results and announced
that it has made three executive appointments.

"Our production outlook for 2012 represents very robust growth compared
with 2011, which was a year of solid gains for met coal production," said
CEO Walt Scheller. "This change reflects my evaluation during the first
three months as CEO of our global operations, strategy and timing of
major projects. The executive appointments announced today will help us
accomplish our strategic and operational growth objectives. We will
provide additional insights into operational results during our earnings
call in late February 2012."

2012 Production Guidance

Walter is resetting the range of expected met coal production in 2012 for
a number of reasons, including the inherent risks of the mining business
and slightly lower expectations from some of the startup developmental
projects like the Aberpergwm mine in Wales. The new projected growth of
11.5 to 13 million metric tons compares with prior expectations for 2012
of 13 to 14 million metric tons of met coal.

For 2011, Walter produced 8.7 million metric tons of met coal, including
nine months of production from the operations of Western Coal Corp. that
Walter acquired on April 1, 2011. This excludes the 1 million tons of met
coal production Western Coal Corp. had during pre-acquisition first
quarter 2011. Compared with the combined base, Walter's expected 2012
production represents an increase in the range of 19% to 34%.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Results

Met coal sales volume and production in the fourth quarter of 2011 were
both approximately 2.4 million metric tons. Similarly, for the full year
2011 met coal sales volume matched the above-mentioned actual annual
production rate of approximately 8.7 million metric tons.

On a consolidated basis for the fourth quarter of 2011, production was
approximately 400,000 metric tons lower than previous guidance and sales
volume was approximately 130,000 metric tons lower than previous
guidance. The fourth quarter production shortfall was principally due to
equipment issues on the second longwall at Mine No. 7 in Alabama and
unanticipated ventilation issues associated with the startup of the
nearby third longwall. The fourth quarter sales volume had a much smaller
shortfall due to sales from inventory and sales of purchased coal.

Sales volume from the mines in Canada exceeded 1 million metric tons of
met coal, which was at the high end of our guidance. These Canadian sales
helped to partially offset the Alabama sales shortfall of approximately
280,000 tons but have lower margins than Walter's Alabama mines.
Additionally, the average selling price for Walter's met coal was near
the low end of previous guidance and, due principally to lower production
volumes in the U.S., the average cash cost per ton was near the high end
of previous guidance.

Given this combination of factors, Walter estimates that fourth quarter
2011 financial results were below the low end of its prior guidance. As
noted above, actual financial results will be disclosed at end of
February 2012.

Executive Appointments

Dan Cartwright has been named President - Canadian Operations, effective
immediately. Mr. Cartwright, who joined Walter Energy in June 2011, has
more than 37 years of mining experience, mainly with surface mines such
as those operated by Walter in Canada. He was previously Vice President
of Operations Support - Powder River Basin & Southwest for Peabody Energy
where he supported six large mines in Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona.
Prior to that role, Cartwright was Operations Director - North Antelope
Rochelle Operations Unit, Peabody's flagship operation. Cartwright also
worked for Shell Mining Company in various positions for over 15 years,
most recently as President, Shell/Marrowbone Development Company.

Rich Donnelly has been named President - Jim Walter Resources (JWR),
effective immediately. Mr. Donnelly was most recently Vice President -
Engineering for JWR and has worked for Walter 34 years. Donnelly has
extensive experience in all aspects of the mining business and has held
numerous operational positions throughout the organization. Donnelly has
served in various Deputy Mine Manager positions, and in various Mine
Manager positions at Walter properties. In addition, Donnelly has
previously served as Vice President - Operations for Jim Walter
Resources.

Earl H. Doppelt has been named Senior Vice President-General Counsel and
Secretary, effective immediately. With over 30 years of legal experience,
Mr. Doppelt has served as the senior legal officer of several major
global companies including: The Nielsen Corporation (formerly VNU),
ACNielsen Corporation, The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation and Paramount
Communications. Most recently, he served as the Executive Vice President
- General Counsel and Secretary of Information Services Group. Keenan
Hohol, who had been filling this position on an interim basis, will
continue to serve as Vice President of Legal - Canadian and European
Operations.

About Walter Energy

Walter Energy is the world's leading, publicly traded "pure play" met
coal producer for the global steel industry. The Company also produces
thermal coal and industrial coal, anthracite, met coke and coal bed
methane gas. The Company has strategic access to high-growth steel
markets in Asia, South America and Europe. Walter Energy employs
approximately 4,400 employees and contractors with operations in the
United States, Canada and United Kingdom. For more information about
Walter Energy, please visit the company website at www.walterenergy.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in
this release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and
may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking
statements are based on information available to management at the time
and they involve judgments and estimates. Forward-looking statements
include expressions such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect,"
"estimate," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "will," and similar terms
and expressions. These forward-looking statements are made based on
expectations and beliefs concerning future events that may affect us and
are subject to various risks, uncertainties and factors relating to our
operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to
predict and many of which are beyond our control, but could cause our
actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or
implied by these forward-looking statements. The following factors are
among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our
forward-looking statements: the market demand for coal, coke, and natural
gas as well as changes in pricing and costs; the availability of raw
material, labor, equipment and transportation; changes in weather and
geologic conditions; changes in extraction costs, pricing, and
assumptions and projections concerning reserves in our mining operations;
changes in customer orders; pricing actions by our competitors,
customers, suppliers and contractors; changes in governmental policies
and laws, including with respect to safety enhancements and environmental
initiatives; availability and costs of credit, surety bonds and letters
of credit; and changes in general economic conditions. Forward-looking
statements made by us in this release, or elsewhere, speak only as of the
date on which the statements were made. See also the "Risk Factors" in
our 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC,
which are currently available on our website at www.walterenergy.com. New
risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for
us to predict these events or how they may affect us or our anticipated
results. We have no duty to, and do not intend to, update or revise the
forward-looking statements in this release, except as may be required by
law. In light of these risks and uncertainties, readers should keep in
mind that any forward-looking statements made in this press release may
not occur. All data presented herein is as of the date of this release
unless otherwise noted.

Contact:
Paul Blalock
Head-Investor Relations
1 205 745 2627
paul.blalock@walterenergy.com

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