Laserfiche WebLink
VERMEJO FORMATION SEAM GEOLOGY <br />Sopris Seam <br />Not completed prior to work termination by Sundance. <br />Upper Starkv111e Seam <br />The Upper Starkville Seam (Permit Map 4) is located <br />stratigraphically above and within 0.6 to 20+ feet of the Lower <br />Starkville Seam. The seam is directly atop the Lower Starkville <br />to the east of theRatunCrcekNo:!Mincwhere concurrent mining of both <br />seams is possible. The Engleville seam represents a coalesced <br />occurrence of the Upper and Lower Starkville Seams. <br />Southwest from theRntonCreckNo.2Mine and over a short distan[e, the two <br />seams have been separated by shale and sandstone derived from a <br />west-east oriented distributary channel located to the south <br />(Permit Map 4 and Figure 2). (Figure 2 is a model stratigraphic <br />section from north to south depicting facies changes from thick <br />minable coal to split seam conditions and the distributary <br />channel. It does not have a specific location.) <br />Splays and the channel itself resulted in a thinning of the seams <br />and the formation of a rider seam from O to 15 feet above the <br />main coal bench. Above 15 feet the rider seam did not farm. The <br />thick occurrence of the Upper Starkville Seam in the current <br />Raton Creek No.l Mine is clearly situated between an easterly and westerly <br />splay deposit (Permit Map 4). Beneath the splays the seam varies <br />from thin, mineable to unmineable. <br />It is expected that south of the channel the seam is thicker and <br />may be mineable. However, it must be determined if the economics <br />of driving through the thin seam area, or rock, warrant <br />development south of the channel. <br />Lower Starkville Seam <br />The Lower Starkville Seam (Permit Map 5) is the stratigraphically <br />lowest seam given reserve status in this report. It varies from <br />a single thick seam, relatively free of partings, to one <br />containing two thick parting. Immediately eastward of the . <br />Re~on Creek No. 1, Rline it deteroriates rapidly such that only one or two <br />thin benches of coal were found. The thicker areas were heavily <br />exploited in the Engleville mine (Sections 31 and 32) and a group <br />of mines that may be collertively called the Scandinavian Mine <br />(Sec. 36 and Sec. 1). It is unclear, whether channels or other <br />unfavorable conditions are responsible for poor coal development <br />eastward. <br />Southeast of the Scandinavian Mine, surrounding Louisiana Land <br />® and Exploration (LL&E) hole 34-6-1, the seam is fairly well <br />developed. South of this point, provided additional channels did <br />88 <br />Revised 5/93 <br />