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Bowie No. 2 Mine (C- 1996 -083) <br />MT- 4 <br />• Section VII is a summary of the review of the reclamation cost estimate and the <br />performance bond(s) held by the Division. <br />Section I - Mine History and Descriptions of the Environment, Operation Plan, and Reclamation <br />Plan <br />Mine Status and History <br />The original Bowie No. 2 Mine permit application was submitted by Bowie Resources Limited on <br />February 13, 1996. The permit was issued on April 4, 1997, with an expiration date of April 4, <br />2002, and has been renewed twice with a current expiration date of April 4, 2017. The mine is <br />currently active. <br />The coal and the surface lands within the present permit area are both federally and privately <br />owned. Of the 9,197 acres of permit area, a total of 402 acres are approved for surface <br />disturbance. Surface disturbance includes facilities areas, roads, six sedimentation ponds, four <br />gob piles, numerous gob vent boreholes, three ventilation shafts, and a unit train loadout. <br />The original Bowie No. 2 Mine permit application indicated that mining would be conducted in <br />the D Seam using the room and pillar mining method. BRL later changed the mining method to <br />longwall mining in the D seam, followed by the construction of portals and facilities to longwall <br />mine the B -2 coal seam. Subsequent permit revisions have increased the permit and affected <br />areas to continue mining in the B seam. Detailed information regarding the Bowie No. 2 Mine <br />operation is located in the eleven volumes which comprise the Bowie No. 2 Mine permit <br />application document. <br />Description of the Environment <br />The Bowie No. 2 Mine is located on federal and private lands within Delta County, <br />approximately five (5) miles northeast of Paonia, Colorado. The mine permit area is located on <br />lands depicted on the U.S. Geological Survey 7.5 minute Bowie Quadrangle Map, and the Bowie <br />No. 2 mine portals are located northwest of the Old King Mine portals (also known as the Bowie <br />Mine). The surface facilities are located north and south of Old State Highway 133 near the old <br />town site of Bowie. The mine lies between Hubbard Creek and Stevens Gulch, to the east and <br />west, respectively. <br />The Bowie No. 2 Mine permit area and adjacent area include a mix of land uses. The lower <br />elevation areas are used for pasture, cropland, orchards, residential and industrial uses. <br />Agricultural uses are served by irrigation water. The higher elevations within and adjacent to <br />the permit area support some rangeland use, and the areas offer abundant wildlife habitat. <br />The lands also support various recreational uses. <br />Page 3 of 22 <br />