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<br />Description of the Mine Operation Plan <br /> <br />Sizes of Permit Area, Disturbed Area, and Production Volumes <br /> <br />The current permit area covers 10,382.3 acres. PR7 increases the permit area by 774.39 acres. <br />With the approval of PR7, the total permit area will be 11,156.69 acres. The projected worst <br />case disturbance was to occur in 2014. The total actual on the ground disturbed area at the <br />beginning of 2013 was 3321.8 acres. Sixty-five acres of new disturbance was planned within the <br />2012-2017 permit term (December 31, 2012 to December 31, 2017) via the original PR7 <br />application. Table 3.1-ised with PR7 shows the approximate yearly <br />disturbance and reclamation in acres for the 2012-2017 permit term. Of the 65 acres originally <br />proposed with PR7 to be disturbed within the existing permit area, 4.6 acres was disturbed in <br />2013 in the M Pit area (TR113) and the Division approved 2.3 acres to be disturbed in the K Pit <br />area in 2014 (MR220). Given this, 6.9 acres (4.6 acres plus 2.3 acres) of the originally <br />requested 65 acres has already been approved to be disturbed, so the Division will propose to <br />approve an additional 58.1 acres of disturbance with PR7 (65 acres minus 6.9 acres). Also, <br />during 2014, seven tenths (.7) of an acre was disturbed in the Ashmore Pit (TR114). With the <br />approval of PR7, the total projected life of mine disturbance at the end of the 2012-2017 permit <br />term will be 6629.9 acres. At the writing of this document, Trapper has obtained Phase III bond <br />release on 3242.4 acres; thus the total cumulative approved disturbed area less the currently <br />approved Phase III bond release area is 3387.5 acres. This acreage (3387.5 acres) includes area <br />currently disturbed and the additional acreage planned to be disturbed for the 2012-2017 permit <br />term. <br /> <br />No disturbance is approved to occur within the 795.72-acre expansion area. The Division <br />stipulated the approval of the RN6 permit renewal application (Stipulation No. 21) as indicated <br />on page 4 of this document. A new stipulation (Stipulation No. 22) is being added to the permit <br />with the approval of PR7. Total cumulative coal production over the life of Trapper Mine is <br />projected to be a maximum of 104.3 million tons. <br /> <br />Mining Method <br /> <br />The mining method is discussed in section 3.0 of the permit. Coal is mined at the Trapper Mine <br />using surface mining methods. Draglines are used to remove overburden and interburden, while <br />front-end loaders, hydraulic excavators and haul trucks are used to remove the coal seams. <br />Trapper Mining, Inc. has historically oriented the pits north-south, parallel to the downhill dip of <br />the coal seams. PR05 reoriented pits G, F and Z (East F Pit) parallel with the strike of the coal <br />seams in an east-west direction. Strike line pits will progress from north to south. Each <br />successive pit cut is next to and parallel to the previous cut. When more than one seam is <br />recovered in a pit, partings are removed by dozer, or backhoe, or similar equipment if thin; or by <br />dragline, if thick. <br /> <br />The October 2006 landslide in the East Panel of Trapper Mine created a need for a change in <br />mining methods for the East Panel area, resulting in Permit Revision PR06. The K Pit and L Pit <br />(originally identified as G <br />historical mining method. Trapper conducted a geotechnical/mine planning study and concluded <br /> <br /> <br />18 <br /> <br />Trapper MineJuly 9, 2013 <br /> <br />