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Twentymile Coal, LLC (TC) <br />Geologic and Engineering Data Report <br />Lease by Modification Application — Wolf Creek Reserve April 2014 <br />Special stipulations <br />N/A <br />II. MINE PLAN SECTION <br />A. Mine plan scenario <br />Possible mine plans <br />The depth of the coal deposit precludes cost-effective surface mining. Conventional room and pillar <br />mining would be acceptable only if the tract were to be bypassed otherwise. The most efficient <br />underground method currently in widespread use is the continuous miner and shuttle car system <br />used for entry development, combined with longwall equipment for coal production. The depth and <br />thickness of the Wolf Creek Seam is well-suited for the existing longwall equipment and <br />conventional underground development methods currently used by TC in the Foidel Creek Mine. <br />The Wolf Creek Seam would be accessed from the existing Wadge Seam workings by driving <br />declining rock -slope ramps down from the Wadge Seam to the Wolf Creek Seam. <br />Briefly, conventional continuous miner sections develop a main entry system off which the three - <br />entry head -gate and three -entry tailgate are driven at right angles to the mains. The gate entries are <br />separated by approximately 1,000 feet, and are designed to be as long as possible in order to <br />maximize the efficiency of the longwall. The longwall equipment is moved in and installed in a <br />setup room mined between the headgate and tailgate entries. The longwall mining method mines the <br />block of coal between the head -gate and tailgate entries by cutting the coal with a rotary shearer, <br />while temporarily supporting the roof in the immediate mining area with movable hydraulic shields. <br />The back, or roof, caves in behind the shields as the longwall face advances. A chain conveyor <br />transports coal from the longwall face to a conventional rubber belt conveyor. The belt conveyor <br />transports the coal outside for processing, shipping, and sale. As the coal is cut and removed, the <br />shields move forward, and the process is more or less continuous. Recovery within the actual <br />longwall panel itself is nearly 100 percent. <br />2. Company data provided <br />Data from fifteen underground and surface drillholes was used to draw lithological cross sections <br />and to generate the coal quality tables. A print-out of this data in Table 1 includes the drillhole <br />numbers, the Wolf Creek Seam and mining height thicknesses and general quality data at a 1.5 <br />specific gravity. <br />Map data includes the following key elements: subsurface mapping data (overburden, interburden, <br />and coal bench thickness), geologic data, topography, drillhole locations and numbers, public land <br />survey system grid, mine coordinate system, and underground mine scenario (mine development <br />and longwall layout). This map data was used to produce the illustrative maps included in this <br />report. <br />Evaluation and recommendations <br />The methods and mine plan proposed by TC (Refer to Plate 7) will result in Maximum Economic <br />Recovery of the Wolf Creek Seam coal within the proposed lease modification area and the planned <br />mining area, and in addition, will contribute to overall coal recovery and Maximum Economic <br />Recovery for the adjacent federal and private coal leases. Given the benefits of producing and <br />making the available coal resource available as a quality, low-cost energy source, the probability of <br />achieving Maximum Economic Recovery, and the associated labor, economic, and community <br />benefits, the proposed lease modification application should be approved and the modified lease <br />WCR BLM Lease App Geologic & Engineeering Data Report 0414.docx Page 5 <br />