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Elk Creek Mine (C-1981-022) MT-8 <br /> 750,000 tons per year. Upon opening the portals, coal was first trucked to the tipple at the Elk Creek <br /> yard. A conveyor system was built while developing the first part of the Sanborn Creek addition. The <br /> conveyor system was used instead of haul trucks to convey coal from the Sanborn Creek portals to <br /> the tipple at the Elk Creek yard. <br /> The Sanborn Creek East Tract and the East Tract modification, are located adjacent to the original <br /> Sanborn Creek addition on the eastern boundary and is an underground continuation of the Sanborn <br /> workings. No additional surface disturbance was required. Method of operations and production <br /> rate projections remained the same. <br /> With the approval of Technical Revision No. 24 on February 15, 1995, the coal production level at the <br /> mine was increased to 1.3 million tons per year. The production level at the loadout was increased to <br /> 1.6 million tons per year. The mine plan was also changed to accommodate the increase in <br /> production. Continuous mining was still the mining method used. <br /> With the approval of Technical Revision No. 29 on July 15, 1997, Oxbow Mining, Inc. began longwall <br /> mining. The anticipated annual coal production was increased from 1.3 million tons per year to 4 <br /> million tons per year. To handle this increase in production, the revision also approved Oxbow <br /> Mining's plans to improve the coal handling facilities, increase the coal stockpile size, construct a new <br /> coal waste disposal site, move existing or build new support facilities and modify the train loadout for <br /> the new production rate. <br /> The West Valley Fill coal refuse area was permitted through Technical Revision No. 29 for use when <br /> the East Yard waste pile was filled to capacity. The operator began using the West Valley Fill coal <br /> refuse area during the third quarter of 2000. Technical Revision No. 43 approved the new II West <br /> Coal Refuse Facility in October 2003. <br /> On January 26, 1999, Oxbow Mining evacuated the Sanborn Creek Mine due to elevated levels of <br /> carbon monoxide. The concern was that the elevated levels may have indicated a mine fire. The <br /> Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the Division were notified. Emergency measures <br /> were taken to seal the mine openings. Two days after the sealing of the mine openings, there was an <br /> explosion in the mine, presumably due to a buildup of methane. MSHA directed Oxbow Mining to <br /> drill emergency boreholes into the mine, for water injection and for gas monitoring. In February of <br /> 1999, Oxbow Mining pumped approximately 88 acre-feet of water from the North Fork of the <br /> Gunnison River through one of the emergency boreholes, into the Sanborn Creek Mine in the <br /> longwall area where the spontaneous combustion event was suspected of being located. <br /> In April of 1999, Oxbow Mining concluded that additional inflow was coming into the mine and might <br /> flood the longwall equipment. The source of the additional inflow was not known but the <br /> approximate rate of inflow was about 200 gpm. With Division approval through Technical Revision <br /> No. 34, Oxbow pumped out mine water into the North Fork of the Gunnison at a rate of about 2000 <br /> gpm. The pumping occurred from July 1999 to the first week of October 1999. The operator decided <br /> Page 9 of 22 <br />