2017-01-04_PERMIT FILE - C1981044A

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Section 2.04.6 Geology Description. Although the longwall system will be the primary mining method employed, standard room and pillar mining will be utilized for the development areas of the longwall system, and, if needed, to supplement coal production. The North Main rock ramps were developed with a roadheader. Mine Access No. 5 Mine. The No. 5 Mine has been and can be accessed and ventilated by the existing No. 5A portal as shown on the No. 5 Mine Plan Map (Map 22). Previously, both No. 5 and No. 5A were used for ventilation and the transport of men and materials. Both sets of portals have coal transport conveyors connected to the outside coal handling facilities; however, only the 5A system remains accessible for possible future use (currently has a temporary seal). No.5A and 6 Mine. Access to the No. 6 Mine will be from within the existing areas of the No. 5 Mine, as shown on the No. 6 Mine Plan Map (Map 23). The initial access will be from just inside the 5A portals consisting of three rock tunnels and two seam to seam shafts located approximately 1,500 feet inside the portals. This access will result in no new surface disturbance. Also, a shaft may be installed in the future above the No. 5A Portal highwall. This shaft will connect both seams with the surface. The planned surface location is within the existing sediment control system and is on previously disturbed ground. The approved technical revision for this activity is included as Exhibit 40, E - Seam Access & Development. A short rock slope runs northwest to meet the main and west entries. The No. 5A Portal, surface facilities, and associated coal transport system will be used for the life of the No. 6 Mine. The first set of ramps and seam to seam shafts from the 5A to the 6 Mine were constructed in 1986 and 1987. The second set of ramps and shafts as well as the shaft to the surface were completed in 1989. Mine Sequence As currently envisioned and as supported by coal market conditions, longwall mining will resume and will continue in the No. 6 mine until completion of all longwall panels. Reserves from the No. 5 mine have been exhausted and no further production is planned from this mine. The sequence of major development and mining events are shown graphically on the No. 5 Mine Plan Map (Map 23) and the No. 6 Mine Plan Map (Map 24), and the following describes the general sequence of mining. As stated, all longwall and development mining has been completed in the No. 5 Mine. Only the 5A portal remains from the No. 5 Mine, as it provides access via the rock -slope, to the No. 6 Mine. As previously described, longwalling is a full extraction method of mining; therefore, caving and most subsidence have occurred directly behind the longwall machine. During late 1986 and 1987, although there was no full extraction longwalling occurring in the No. 6 mine, development occurred in preparation for moving the longwall. In the No. 5 mine, the longwall extracted the panels from East to West, although the mining operation proceeded in a northerly direction. The sequence of mining in the No. 5 Mine repeated itself through the first six panels of the No. 5 Mine. Once the panels were mined out in the No. 5 Mine, over a period of 1 to 2 months, the longwall system was moved and installed in Panel No. 1 of the No. 6 Mine. With completion of mining of the No. 5 Mine, approximately 8 million tons of coal have been recovered. The first panel to be mined at the No. 6 Mine was Panel No. 1. Longwall mining proceeded in approximately a southeast to northwest direction in Panel No. 1. Longwall mining and panel development then proceeded as shown on the No. 6 Mine Plan Map (Map 24). Like the No. 5 mine, the longwall proceeded in an east to west direction, although the general mining advance proceeded in a northerly direction. In order to illustrate how a longwall panel operates, a drawing of a longwall panel is presented in Figure 47, Typical Longwall Panel. Under the five-year permit tern ending in 1998, longwall mining occurred in Panel No. 3, and development mining in Panel No. 4 of the No. 6 Mine (Map 24), prior to cessation of active mining and transition to Temporary Cessation status. Mining, as described, is anticipated to proceed, under an active mining scenario, for the life of the mine in the "B" coal seam of the No. 6 Mine. Details of the life -of -mine sequencing are shown graphically on the Life -of -Mine Plan Map (Map 22). TR14-36 2.05-3 Revised 11/18/13