Laserfiche WebLink
West Elk Mine <br /> <br />2.05-6 Rev. 11/04- PR11; 03/06- PR10; 07/15- MR413; 07/18- PR15, 01/24-TR152 <br />Use and Conservation of the Coal Resource <br /> <br />The mine plan has been laid out to recover as much coal as practical, considering prudent mining <br />practices and economic viability of the operation. Longwall technology is utilized at West Elk <br />Mine to achieve the maximum economic recovery of the coal reserves, enhance personnel safety, <br />and protect surface resources. Although this method attains the highest overall reserve recovery, <br />not all coal will be recovered. <br /> <br />Although high recovery rates will be achieved with longwall technology in the E and B Seams, <br />some coal will remain unmined. Because of the specific block pattern needed for longwall panel <br />development, small areas of marginally thick E and B Seam coal will not be mined. These areas <br />occur where the planned longwall panel layout cannot be configured to fit the reserve area. <br />Where E and B Seam mining will occur, some top coal, from one to two feet in thickness, will be <br />left unmined in the roof to improve roof conditions and hence, personnel safety and product <br />quality. Because the full seam thickness commonly exceeds the maximum extraction height of <br />the mining equipment, some floor coal will also be left unmined. <br /> <br />To recover as much coal as possible the retreat mining method was introduced in 2024. This <br />method recovers coal from existing main roads, gate roads, longwall recovery chute roads, and <br />solid coal barrier pillars positioned along outside entries. <br /> <br />Table 30 <br />Typical Equipment Used for Longwall Development Mining at West Elk Mine <br />Equipment Principal Use <br />Continuous Miner Cutting Coal <br />Diesel Shuttle Car Transport Coal To Feeder <br />Feeder Breaker Break Coal/Meter Flow To Belt <br />Section Conveyor Belt Transport Coal To Main Belt <br />Main Conveyor Belt Transport Coal To Surface <br />Roof Bolter Primary/Secondary Roof Support <br />Power Center Provide Electrical Power <br />Auxiliary Fan Provide Face Ventilation <br />Water Truck/Wagon Dust Suppression-Roadways <br />Rock Duster-Mobile Section & Outby Dusting <br />Trickle Duster Return Entry/Beltline Dusting <br />Bulk Dust System Mine-wide Rock-dusting & Transport <br />Mine Monitoring System Equipment Control, Monitoring & Safety <br />Scoop/LHD Clean-Up/ Equipment Moves <br />Maintenance Tender Mining Equipment Maintenance <br />Boom Truck Utility-Supply/Maintenance <br />Mantrip Personnel Transport <br />Grader Roadway Maintenance <br />Fork Truck/Hydraulic Trailer Supply Transport <br />Utility/Maintenance Vehicles Support/Transportation <br /> <br />Other coal beds occur in the West Elk Mine area that are generally thin, discontinuous, and of <br />poor coal quality. The mining of these seams is not planned. These seams are, in ascending <br />order, the A Seam, the C Seam, the D Seam, and further F Seam. The A Seam is typically less <br />than five feet in thickness and occurs too close below the B Seam to be economically <br />recoverable. Likewise, the C Seam is typically thin, split with rock partings or absent in the <br />West Elk Mine coal lease area. The C Seam also lies sufficiently close to the overlying B Seam