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West Elk Mine <br />. being mined in Lease COC-56447; the B Seam will be mined in COC-67011; the B Seam has <br />I and will be mined and the E Seam is planned to be mined in Lease C-1362. <br />MCC mined in the F Seam from 1982 to 1991 from Lease D-044569 and C-0117192. This <br />mining was only mazginally successful. Poor mine roof conditions, sandstone channels, thin <br />coal, poor coal quality, and other unfavorable conditions negatively affected mining and <br />rendered this seam uneconomic under past and present market conditions. <br />Approximately 180 feet below the F Seam horizon lies the E Seam. Mining plans for the E <br />Seam are presented on Map 51. Development of the E Seam is planned to commence in 2004, <br />with longwall mining projected for 2008. <br />Approximately 400 feet below F Seam and 200 feet below E Seam lies the B Seam. The <br />mineable B Seam contains some areas of coal, particularly in Federal Leases C-0117192, COC- <br />54558, and COC-56447 where no mineable E Seam exists above the B Seam. As such, B Seam <br />mining in this area causes no issues for E Seam. Recovering the two economically viable <br />seams at West Elk Mine requires thorough evaluation of various mining scenarios. The <br />mineable areas of the E and B Seams can be seen by comparing Map 13 (B Seam thickness) with <br />Map 18 (E Seam thickness). E and B Seam mine plans, maximizutg the recovery of reserves, are <br />shown on Maps 51 and 52, respectively. <br />MCC has assessed the recoverable coal reserves of the Federal coal leases contained in the E and <br />B Seams. MCC's 2004 Budget Ptan includes 91.9 million tons of recoverable reserves in the <br />• E and B Seams (Table 28). <br /> Table 28 <br />Estimate of Recoverable Coal Reserves at the West Elk Mine <br /> Recoverable Reserves millions of tons <br /> Lease Lease Lease Lease Lease Lease Other <br />Seam COC- <br />56447 COC-54558 D-044569 C-0117192 C-1362 West Flat <br />Iron Fee Lease Total <br />B 22.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.3 3.0 27.7 <br />E 0.2 0.0 .03 0.0 58.1 0.0 7.9 66.2 <br />Total 22.6 0.0 .03 0.0 58.1 2.3 10.9 93.9 <br />Note: Recoverable reserves are based on the 2004 Budget Plan with West Flat Iron LBA and without Dry Fork LBA . <br />The mine plan was laid out to recover as much coal as possible with consideration for personnel <br />and equipment safety and surface protection. The percent of recovery in the development (room <br />and pillaz) sections is approximately 40-60 percent, more or less, depending upon pillar design. <br />Longwall panel extraction methods increase that extraction ratio to 80-90 percent for the mining <br />height, which is planned at approximately 12.0 feet for the B Seam and 8.0 to 14.0 feet for the E <br />Seam. The overall recovery of the mine layout has not been calculated, because it varies <br />continuously with changes in mine plans. <br />~. <br />2.05-4 Revised November 2004 PR71 <br />