2024-08-29_PERMIT FILE - C1980007 (2)

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West Elk Mine 2.05-43 Rev. 11/04, 03/06, 04/06 & 05/06- PR10; 08/09- TR118; 08/09-TR119; 09/09- MR357; 01/10- TR120; 10/12- MR-388 production volumes. The storage area was expanded by moving a portion of the main topsoil stockpile to the south, creating an additional 60,000 to 88,000 tons of coal storage area. Run-of- mine coal is fed directly to these tubes. Bulldozers push the coal into the hoppers feeding the underground reclaim system and into the crusher. The stacking tube facility consists of three stacking tubes ranging in height from 91 to 94 feet and constructed of reinforced concrete. On top of each stack tube is a transfer structure. The transfer structures are approximately 38 feet tall, open steel structures. The facility also includes a 60-foot tall feed conveyor drive tower and a 42-foot high crusher building. Both of these are open steel structures. An as-built construction description is provided in Exhibit 68. Screening Facility Construction of a screening facility was begun in 1992 and became operational in February of 1993. The facility is used to separate over-sized material (typically consisting of rock) from the product-sized coal. The screening facility consists of an open steel structure with a maximum height of 84 feet and three associated conveyors. A 1,500 tons per hour high-angle conveyor transfers material to the screening plant from the crusher, product-sized coal is transported to the silo conveyor belt on a 1,500 tons per hour conveyor and a 300 tons per hour high-angle conveyor transports over-sized material to the rotary breaker. An as-built construction description is provided in Exhibit 68. Coal Preparation Plant and Associated Coal Handling Facilities After mining began in the E-Seam of the West Elk Mine, geologic conditions proved to be more variable than anticipated. Seam thickness deviation and sandstone intrusions into the coal seam caused higher than expected levels of ash in the run-of-mine coal. As a result, MCC constructed a coal preparation plant and associated coal handling facilities to reduce the ash levels and increase the heat content of its coal product in order to meet its current coal supply obligations on a consistent basis. The Coal Preparation Plant (“the Plant) is located on the existing LRP mine bench. The Plant building is steel-sided and completely encloses the washing and coal handling equipment. The Plant separates the ROM coal material into salable coal products and coal refuse. The salable products are blended in the plant as required to meet customer specifications. The refuse material is conveyed by 550-foot long, 36-inch wide conveyor PP-4 into a 300-ton truck loading bin at the RPE coal refuse area. The truck loading bin loads off-highway trucks for distribution to the coal refuse pile. Conveyor P-6, a 200-foot long, 36-inch wide stacking conveyor and the fines stockpile on the LRP allow for temporary storage of up to approximately 5,000 tons of coal and/or coal fines product. If needed, the fines can be used for later blending to meet coal quality specifications, or can be transported to the RPE for disposal, depending on the quality of the fines. Refer to Exhibit 81 for more specific information. Water will be supplied to the Preparation Plant via a new 8-inch diameter buried HDPE pipeline. The coal preparation plant is a closed-loop system designed to produce no effluent. As a precaution, a buried HDPE discharge water pipe was installed to flow to a sediment trap on the south east corner of the bench and flow to an existing LRP perimeter drainage ditch.