FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Cochran Kenneth D. 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 08/09/2012 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol ARCH COAL INC [ACI] (Last) (First) (Middle) ONE CITYPLACE DRIVE, SUITE 300 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Sr. VP - Operations 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) ST. LOUIS, MO 63141 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock 17,500 D Â

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Options	  (1)	02/22/2017	Common Stock	7,500	$ 32.99	D	Â
Employee Stock Options	  (2)	02/21/2018	Common Stock	7,850	$ 52.69	D	Â
Employee Stock Options	  (3)	02/19/2019	Common Stock	10,050	$ 14.05	D	Â
Employee Stock Options	  (4)	02/18/2020	Common Stock	7,600	$ 22.65	D	Â
Employee Stock Options	  (5)	02/24/2021	Common Stock	5,200	$ 32.49	D	Â
Employee Stock Options	  (6)	02/23/2022	Common Stock	21,650	$ 13.93	D	Â
Restricted Stock Units	  (7)	  (8)	Common Stock	8,600	$ 13.93	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Cochran Kenneth D. ONE CITYPLACE DRIVE SUITE 300 ST. LOUIS, MO 63141	Â	Â	  Sr. VP - Operations	Â

Signatures

/s/ Jon S. Ploetz, Attorney-in-Fact		08/13/2012
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	The reporting person received 7,500 stock options on February 22, 2007. The stock options vested ratably over 3 years as follows: 2,500 shares vested on February 22, 2008; 2,500 shares vested on February 22, 2009; and 2,500 shares vested on February 22, 2010.
(2)	The reporting person received 7,850 stock options on February 21, 2008. The stock options vested ratably over 3 years as follows: 2,617 shares vested on February 21, 2009; 2,617 shares vested on February 21, 2010; and 2,616 shares vested on February 21, 2011.
(3)	The reporting person received 10,050 stock options on February 19, 2009. The stock options vest ratably over 4 years as follows: 2,513 shares vested on February 19, 2010; 2,513 shares vested on February 19, 2011; 2,512 shares vested on February 19, 2012; and 2,512 shares will vest on February 19, 2013.
(4)	The reporting person received 7,600 stock options on February 18, 2010. The stock options vest ratably over 4 years as follows: 1,900 shares vested on February 18, 2011; 1,900 shares vested on February 18, 2012; 1,900 shares will vest on February 18, 2013; and 1,900 shares will vest on February 18, 2014.
(5)	The reporting person received 5,200 stock options on February 24, 2011. The stock options vest ratably over 3 years as follows: 1,734 shares vested on February 24, 2012; 1,733 shares will vest on February 24, 2013; and 1,733 shares will vest on February 24, 2014.
(6)	The reporting person received 21,650 stock options on February 23, 2012. The stock options vest ratably over 3 years as follows: 7,217 shares will vest on February 23, 2013; 7,217 shares will vest on February 23, 2014; and 7,216 shares will vest on February 24, 2015.
(7)	The reporting person received 8,600 restricted stock units on February 23, 2012. The restricted stock units vest on February 23, 2015.
(8)	The resricted stock units do not expire.

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