PERMFILE48911

• Permit No: C1982055
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 12/11/2001
• Section_Exhibit Name: SECTION 2.04 Environmental Resources
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

Geoaraohic Setting
The coal properties owned or leased to Sundance Coal Company that
;~., constitute the reserve base of the Raton Creek Mines
~~~ surround the common corners of congressional townships T33 & 34S
and R63,& 64W south of Trinidad, Las Animas County, Colorado
(Permit Map 6).
Topography of the area is characterized by moderate to severe
slopes as a reflection of approximately 3,000 feet of relief from
Ratan Creek, along Interstate Highway 25, eastward to lave capped
Fisher's Peak. The coal seam accessible from Starkville Gulch
and the Raton Creek Mines cropout in or west of the gulch.
Consequently, the mine portals or future pits are convenient to
existing coal preparation facilities and truck/rail
transportation.
Geologic Setting
The subject properties are located on the eastern flank of the
Raton Mesa Coal Region, Colorado-New Mexico. The Raton Mesa is
an asymmetrical, elongated structural basin with a north-south
trending axis. Dips on the eastern flank are gentle with few
local, structural complications in comparison to the severely
folded western flank. Despite the north-south axis, the
orientation of the basin's eastern edge is north-northwest as a
result of steeper dips along the extreme eastern margin north of
Trinidad toward Walsenburg, Colorado. Conversely, the far
eastward extension of the basin at Trinidad is indicative of
f4, gentle dips along the central portion of the eastern flank.
The structure of the specific area is quite gentle with dips of
less than one degree to the northwest (Permit Exhibits A, B and
I). The location of the sections are shown on the map index of
each exhibit.
Faulting is not a dominant factor of local structural geology and
is not expected to seriously impact the minability of the coal
seams. To date, only small slips have been encountered in the
Raton Creek No.l Mine . These have been handled without significant
difficulty and lass of production. Two small faults were also
encountered and crossed in a Lower Starkville Seam mine in the
extreme northern portion of the A.P. Green tract. Fault
displacements are not expected to exceed twenty feet.
Coal bearing sedimentary rocks of the basin have been placed in
the Cretaceous and Tertiary Systems with significant coal
development limited to the Vermejo Formation and the middle unit
of the Raton Formation. This report is concerned with the
reserves and geologic conditions of Vermejo Formation coal seams.
The Vermejo Formation is comprised of five named coal seams each
of which exhibit variable seam conditions and ®inability. They
are in ascending order: the Lower Piedmont, Piedmont, Lower
Starkville, Upper Starakville and Sopris Seams. Although most,
if not all of the seams have been mined in the vicinity, the
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