SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                          ----------------------------

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934


 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 23, 2004 (July 22, 2004)

                                 Arch Coal, Inc.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

            Delaware                 1-13105                 43-0921172
-----------------------------  ---------------------------   ----------
(State or other jurisdiction    (Commission File Number)    (I.R.S. Employer
    of incorporation)                                        Identification No.)


            One CityPlace Drive, Suite 300, St. Louis, Missouri 63141
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)


       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (314) 994-2700











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Item 5. Other  Events.

     On July 22, 2004,  Arch Coal,  Inc.  (the  "Company"),  announced via press
release  that  Patricia  Fry Godley has been  elected to its board of  directors
effective  immediately.  Ms. Godley will serve on the board's finance  committee
and the  personnel and  compensation  committee.  A copy of the Company's  press
release is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.



Item 7.  Exhibits.

         (c) The following Exhibit is filed with this Current Report on Form
8-K:

             Exhibit No.               Description
                99                     Press Release dated as of July 22, 2004


























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                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Dated:  July 23, 2004                  ARCH COAL, INC.



                                       By:  /s/ Janet L. Horgan
                                            -----------------------------------
                                            Janet L. Horgan
                                            Assistant General Counsel
                                             and Assistant Secretary



























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                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit No.                 Description
-----------                ------------
99                         Press Release dated as of July 22, 2004


































                               Page 4 of 4 pages.






                                                                     Exhibit 99
News from
Arch Coal, Inc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

                                                    Kim Link, External Affairs
                                                                 (314) 994-2936

                                                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                       Thursday, July 22, 2004


            Arch Coal Names Patricia Fry Godley to Board of Directors

     ST.  LOUIS/ July 22 - Arch Coal,  Inc.  (NYSE:  ACI) today  announced  that
Patricia  Fry  Godley,  age 56,  has been  elected  to its  board  of  directors
effective  immediately.  Ms. Godley will serve on the board's finance  committee
and the personnel and compensation committee.

     "It is with  great  pleasure  that I  welcome  Pat  Godley  to our board of
directors,"  said Steven F. Leer,  Arch  Coal's  president  and chief  executive
officer. "Pat's twenty-five years of experience in the energy sector,  including
her direct work with the Department of Energy,  will be a strong addition to our
governing board."

     Ms.  Godley  is a  partner  with the law firm Van  Ness  Feldman,  P.C.  in
Washington,  D.C., where she represents major electric and natural gas utilities
in regulatory,  public policy, and transactional matters. Previously, she served
as the Assistant  Secretary  for Fossil Energy at the U.S.  Department of Energy
(DOE),  where she managed  federal  investment  in fossil  energy  research  and
development,  including  clean coal  technologies.  During her term at DOE,  Ms.
Godley  also  supervised  the sale of the  U.S.-owned  Elk  Hills  oil  field in
California  for $3.65  billion,  in the largest  privatization  in the  nation's
history.

     In addition to serving as a director for Arch Coal,  Ms. Godley also serves
as general counsel and a director of the United States Energy  Association.  Ms.
Godley is a member of the American Bar Association,  the Energy Bar Association,
the D.C. Bar Association and the Texas Bar Association.

     Ms.  Godley  holds a bachelor  of arts degree from  Trinity  University,  a
master of arts from Memphis State  University,  and a doctorate of jurisprudence
from the  University  of Texas where she served as managing  editor of the Texas
Law Review.

     St. Louis-based Arch Coal is one of the nation's largest coal producers and
mines  clean-burning,   low-sulfur  coal  exclusively.  Through  its  subsidiary
operations in West Virginia,  Kentucky,  Virginia,  Wyoming,  Colorado and Utah,
Arch provides the fuel for approximately 6 percent of the electricity  generated
in the United States.