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2.05.3 - OPERATION PLAN, PRODUCTION METHODS AND <br />EQUIPMENT <br />METHOD OF COAL EXTRACTION <br />The King II Mine is an underground coal mine. A maximum stripping <br />ratio of 1:50 make coal extraction operations amenable to underground <br />methods only. The method used is common to most U.S. underground <br />coal mines and is called coal extraction by room and pillar mining. A <br />series of mine openings are developed from the surface to the coal <br />resources of the mine property. At the King II Mine, the upper Menefee <br />coal seam outcrops along Cochran Canyon. The portals (mine openings) <br />are constructed at the seam outcrop. The openings or entries are <br />advanced in the coal following the seam. No shafts (vertical openings) or <br />inclines through overburden material are necessary. <br />The coal reserves are divided up into sections or panels convenient for <br />extraction. First, rooms are developed leaving coal pillars to support the <br />main roof. Later, after a panel has been developed, the pillars are <br />extracted on retreat from the panel. In this way, the recovery of the coal <br />is maximized. Since pillaring operations began at the King I Mine during <br />the late summer months of 1979, the extraction ratio of coal removed <br />from the panels to coal left behind is approximately 5:1. This is an <br />excellent extraction ratio. <br />MINE WORKINGS <br />Map King II -005 shows proposed mine workings within the Permit Area <br />boundaries. Superimposed above the workings, the surface topography <br />has been drawn in for correlation purposes between the surface and the <br />underground workings. <br />MINING EQUIPMENT <br />The coal is mined using one or two continuous mining units (sections). <br />These sections consist of one or two continuous miners, 2-4 shuttle cars, <br />one or two dual boom roof drills (bolter machines), a feeder/breaker belt <br />feeder, and a 12,470-950/480 volt power center. After coal is ripped <br />from the face, it is loaded into the shuttle cars for transporting to the <br />conveyor belt for removal from the mine. All the above equipment is <br />electrical. Haulage vehicles for moving men and supplies into the mine <br />are diesel or battery powered. <br />Electric power for the mine is supplied by a surface sub -station. Voltage <br />entering the mine is 12,470VAC which is stepped down by the <br />GCC Energy, LLC King II Mine <br />Section 2.05.3 <br />Page 1 July 11, 2017 (RN -07) <br />