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The closest coal seams below the Wadge seam are the Sage Creek and the Wolf Creek seams with a <br />total interburden thickness of approximately 150 feet (see Exhibit 6-1 B). There is no equipment . <br />suited to the terrain at the II-W mine that dould economically remove overburden/interburden to such <br />depths. However, there is an area of Sage Creek and Wolf Creek coal that is recoverable at depths of <br />less than 100 feet. PR-03, approved in May 2003, presented detailed information and mining plans to <br />allow recovery of the Sage Creek and Wolf Creek coal seams. <br />Over the life of the II-W Mine, various mining methods in addition to the dragline have been tried in <br />order to maximize coal resource conservation and recovery. These methods have included stripping <br />with dozers and scrapers where applicable and attempts at recovering deeper coal using angering <br />and proposed highwall mining. Auger methods were used with limited success and the highwall <br />mining method, based on results at the Yoast Mine, was eliminated prior to showing up at II-W. The <br />remaining recoverable reserve will be mined with the 770 dragline. The areas mined and the <br />remaining areas to be mined are shown on Exhibit 12-2. <br />Operation Descriotion -General <br />The mining plan for Seneca II-W was developed in conjunction with the Seneca II and Yoast mining plans <br />and is based on standard mining practices, feasibility studies, and balancing production between both mines. <br />As shown on Exhibit 12-2, the mining reserves at the Seneca II-W Mine lie in three distinct areas within the . <br />permit boundary. These areas will be mined from cropline to the 100 foot rewvery line. The Wadge Coal <br />seam generally crops at the ridge top on the east side of the permit boundary, an exception to this is the <br />internal cropline upstream of Pond 006 and in the southern most mining block. <br />A box cut is normally initiated in a location where overburden depth is minimal. This allows the dragline <br />sufficient room to spoil the overburden adjacent to the box cut and also reduces the volume of material that <br />will require rehandle when the mining progression changes direction. <br />Mining will have to be conducted concunentfy in two or more pifs over much of the mine life. This is <br />necessitated by fairly short, deep pits preventing drilling, shooting, overburden removal and coal removal <br />operations to proceed in a single pit in a timely manner. The dragline will move between pits as needed to <br />facilitate concurrent operations. Some final pits will accommodate additional coal recovery by auger and/or <br />highwall miner operations. <br />Operation Description -Permit Area <br />The proposed Seneca II-W permit area, which includes the life-of-operations area, is located in portions of <br />Sections 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 34, and 35, TSN, R88W. Exhibit 12-2, Operations Plan, <br />PR-05 ~ 6 Revised 01106 <br />