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Three Geotechnical Drill Holes at Deer Creek Shaft Project Plan <br />Minor Revision 338 <br />Page 6 of 9 <br />resource surveys for the adjacent drilling aze titled "Mountain Coal Company, West Elk <br />Mine, Drill Pads for Panels 16, 17, 175, Class III Cultural Resource Inventory, Gunnison <br />County, Colorado" and "Mountain Coal Company, West Elk Mine, Drill Pads for Panels <br />18 to 24, Class III Cultural Resource Inventory, Gunnison County, Colorado". No <br />cultural resources were identified in these investigations. <br />PROPOSED ACCESS ROUTES <br />The access route for these drill holes will be via the existing Minnesota Reservoir Road <br />USFS Road 711. <br />PRE-DRILLING ACTIVITIES <br />Construction and drilling activities will be supervised by a project representative of <br />Mountain Coal Company, L.L.C. Any significant proposed changes in the project after <br />permit approval would be reviewed with the appropriate regulatory agencies before <br />changes take effect. <br />Staging areas to be used by the drilling contractor will be used in a manner to minimize <br />damage to the vegetation. Any surface disturbance to these sites will be re-graded and <br />seeded to promote rehabilitation. <br />Access routes are maintained to accommodate full sized 4X4 pickup trucks, ATVs, and <br />required drilling equipment, including but not limited to the following: truck mounted or <br />skid mounted drill rig, air compressors and\or booster, rig-up truck, portable water tanks, <br />boom truck, utility trailer, drill pipe lay-down rack, and crew trucks. <br />Topsoil has been stripped, stockpiled, and identified with a sign as part of the Deer Creek <br />Shaft NOI permitted in 2006. <br />One large mudpit, to accommodate drill cuttings, will be required. The proximate <br />location is depicted on the attached schematic and Map. <br />DRILLING ACTIVITIES <br />Drilling activities for the proposed geotechnical drill holes will include mobilizing drill <br />equipment to the site and drilling and setting (temporarily) approximately 60 feet of 16- <br />inch surface casing at each drilling location. Three holes will be drilled to a depth of <br />approximately 380 feet where the hole will intercept the E Seam. The holes drilled will <br />be 14-inch in diameter hole to the E-Seam, then filled with a lightweight bentonite and/or <br />sand afer the geotechnical investigation is completed. A depiction of a typical completed <br />hole is attached as Figure 1, (Drill and Fill). <br />