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Mine Access <br />No. 5 Mine. Currently, access to and ventilation of the No. 5 Mine is provided by the existing No. 5A portal as <br />shown on the No. 5 Mine Plan Map (Map 22). Previously, both No. 5 and No. 5A were used for ventilation and the <br />transport of men and materials. Both sets of portals have coal transport conveyors connected to the outside coal <br />handling facilities; however, only the 5A system remains open for use. <br />No. 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. <br />6 Mine Plan Map (Map 23). The initial accesses will be from just inside the 5A portals consisting of three (3) rock <br />tunnels and two (2) seam to seam shafts located approximately 1500 feet inside the portals. This access will result in <br />no new surface disturbance. Also, a shaft will be installed above the No. 5A portal highwall. This shaft will connect <br />both seams with the surface. The surface location is within the existing sediment control system and is on previously <br />disturbed ground. The approved technical revision for this activity is included as Exhibit 40, E - Seam Access & <br />Development. A short rock slope runs northwest to meet the main and west entries. <br />The No. 5A portal and surface facilities will be used for the life of the No. 6 Mine. The coal transport system <br />associated with the No. 5A portal will be used. The anticipated timing for the first set of ramps and seam to seam <br />shafts is 1986 and 1987. The second set of ramps and shafts as well as the shaft to the surface are scheduled for about <br />1989. <br />Lonawall Minin <br />As stated earlier in this section, as of May 1985, the primary mining method at the Eagle No. 5 and planned for the <br />Eagle No. 6 mine will be longwall. In the area shown on the No. 5 Mine Plan Map (Map 23) and the No. 6 Mine <br />Plan Map (Map 24), continuous miners are used to develop panel entries and outline a coal block. The longwall <br />mining unit is then used to fully extract the coal block in retreat. A typical cross section of the longwall equipment is <br />shown on Figure 45, Longwall Face Cross -Section Equipment. <br />EC uses the retreat method of longwall mining which consists of two sets of parallel entries driven in the coal seam <br />separated by a distance equal to the longwall face width. When these sets of entries have reached a predetermined <br />distance or boundary, they are connected to form the face, which is then retreated by extracting the coal. <br />A large block, approximately 600 to 800 feet wide and 3,000 to 7,000 feet long, is developed in the coal seam. The <br />coal is then continually extracted by taking predetermined slices (or cuts) along the full width of the block. The <br />cutting of the coal is achieved with a shearer -loader, traversing the face. The coal that is cut from the face is <br />transported from the face by a chain conveyor. The coal is then fed to a stageloader, which is located in the entry <br />adjacent to, and at right angles, to the chain conveyor. The stageloader feeds the coal onto a belt conveyor, which <br />delivers the coal onto the main coal clearance system. A schematic of the longwall system is presented on Figure 46, <br />Typical Three Entry Longwall Development. As the slices or cuts are taken, the newly exposed roof is supported by <br />roof canopies of a hydraulically operated powered support system, During this operation, the previously supported <br />roof furthest from the face line collapses behind the roof support system. This cycle of operation is repeated until the <br />entry panel has been extracted. The longwall equipment is then transferred to the next longwall panel. A list of the <br />major equipment used in the longwall development and mining system is presented in Table 52, Longwall Equipment <br />List. <br />In the event general underground mining activities encounter adverse conditions, blasting may be required. The <br />amount of blasting that may be required is insignificant to the operation. If blasting is necessary, it will be performed <br />using a permissible powder and in accordance with Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) regulations. <br />The development of the North Mains rock ramp to the "H" seam may require blasting. The resulting material will be <br />Permit Renewal No. 4 2.05-2 Revised 3/5/03 <br />