NewLead Holdings Ltd. Announces Access and Mining Rights
to Five Mile Mine in Kentucky, USA

Piraeus, Greece, Greece, Jan. 9, 2014

NewLead Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NEWL) ("NewLead" or the "Company") announced today that it has been granted access to develop and mine the Five Mile mine (7,695 mineral acres), that includes a CSX rail load facility, the Andy Rail Terminal, in Kentucky, USA which mine the Company agreed to acquire in 2012.

As previously announced, NewLead has received a reserve report, dated May 2013, for the Five Mile mine, compliant with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission methodology, according to which the estimated net present value of the mine is approximately $108 million and the property contains approximately eight million tons of proven and probable coal reserves. The CSX rail load is located only a half mile from the mine and has a loading capacity of 1,800 tons per hour.

Payment to the seller has commenced pursuant to the program described in the Current Report on Form 6-K filed on December 2, 2013, and it is expected that by the end of 2014, title to the Five Mile mine will be transferred to NewLead and the acquisition will be completed. The Company estimates that the mine will begin generating revenue in the first quarter of 2014, once production commences.

Mr. Michael Zolotas, chairman and chief executive officer of NewLead, stated, "We are pleased to be able to develop the Five Mile mine in Kentucky. The close proximity of the CSX rail load facility to the mine allows for reduced transportation costs, which we believe provides a competitive advantage. In combination with the acquisition of the Viking mine and the wash plant in Kentucky, we are developing scale in our business."

About NewLead Holdings Ltd.
NewLead Holdings Ltd. is an international, vertically integrated shipping and commodity company that manages product tankers and dry bulk vessels. NewLead currently owns three dry bulk vessels, which includes one newbuilding. NewLead owns a wash plant and a mine, the Viking mine in Kentucky, USA. NewLead's common shares are traded under the symbol "NEWL" on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. To learn more about NewLead Holdings Ltd., please visit the new website at www.newleadholdings.com

Source: NewLead Holdings Ltd. press release