National Coal Corp. Announces Contracts with Two State Utilities

Business Wire, June 7, 2004

Business Editors

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2004

National Coal Corp. (OTCBB:NLCP) announced today that it has begun fulfilling contractual obligations to ship its coal to two state utility companies. The aggregate remaining value of both contracts is approximately $6.8 million. The company expects to ship the remaining tonnage pursuant to these contracts within the next 150 days. The company's current monthly production rate is in excess of 30,000 tons, and expects to double this rate within the next 90 - 120 days.

According to Jon Nix, CEO of National Coal Corp., "Our recent strategic

acquisition of assets, combined with our existing operations, has begun to bear fruit as evidenced by our ability to both secure and fulfill our obligations to provide coal to two great companies. We expect to increase our production capacity in the near term which will enable us to be opportunistic and sign additional deals with other utility companies."

About National Coal Corp.

National Coal Corp., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, National Coal Corporation, owns the coal mineral rights on approximately 70,000 acres in Eastern Tennessee.

Information about Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains statements that are "forward-looking statements" 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. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described in National Coal's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, which is filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers of this release are referred to those filings.