PERMFILE59262

• Permit No: C1982056A
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 4/3/2003
• Doc Name: pages 2.05-1 to 2.05-64
• Section_Exhibit Name: 2.05 Operation and Reclamation Plans
• Media Type: D
• Archive: Yes

In the event the highwall proves to be unstable over the entries either a steel arch, mats, and/or concrete will be
installed to stabilize the area. The entries will be driven from the Main North workings, and approximately 13,000
,tons of coal will be mined during the development of these entries. The entries will be approximately 900 feet in
length. The location of the entries is shown on Map 23.
When the entries are no longer needed, they will be sealed per the procedure given on page .OS-119, d the
approved typical seal is shown on Figure 15. After constmction of the seals is completed the site wr a ackfilled
in accordance with the approved plan. No additional work, except for seal construction, will be required as a result
of developing the eastern portals.
Minine Method
The mining method planned for the Foidel Creek Mine is a combined system of room and pillar and longwall
mining. Both mining methods aze successfully used in western U.S. coal operations having similar mining
conditions.
Room and Pillar Minine
Room and pillar mining refers to the extraction of rooms (mine openings) and pillars using a continuous mining
machine. Rooms are mined on development and the pillars are extracted during retreat. This mining method has
been the backbone of the U.S. coal mining industry and it owes its popularity to its relatively low cost and
flexibility. This method easily adapts to changes in the geological and physical conditions of the mine. Continuous
miners can negotiate tectonically disturbed areas of the mend and adapt to seam variations and uneven reserve
blocks. The continuous miner sections equipment can easily be transported to different locations in the mine and
total production is only proportionately affected by stoppages of any one unit.
• The productivity of a continuous miner unit in room and pillar extraction is less than longwall mining under most
conditions and thus more expensive in opemting cost per ton. The overall coal recovery seldom exceeds 55 to 60
percent due to the necessity to leave barriers and pillar stumps.
Lonewall Minin
Longvvall mining has gained great acceptance and is increasing in popularity in the U.S., primarily because of its
inherent advantages for high productivity, low opemting cost, high reserve recovery, and high safety record. Longwell
mining derived its name from the several hundred-foot long faces from which coal is cut. Longwell panels are huge,
solid blocks of coal laid out several thousands of feet long by several hundreds of feet wide. Extraction is by a
powerful cutting machine with huge drums which rips slices of coal from the block. All work takes place under a
canopy of hydraulic steel supports. The roof supports are placed in a straight line with skin to skin contact separating
the work area from the cave. The cutting step is followed by advance of the steel supports in a continuous cycle of
operation. Longwell mining achieves upward of 75 percent recovery because the entire seam is extracted in major
blocks. TCC stresses the importance of maximizing resource recovery. Hopefully, the Foidel Creek Mine has the
reserves, conditions and the coal blocks suitable for this superior mining technology. Longwell mining also has a
superior record of safety.
Production
The annual amount of production will be dictated by market demand and as such, is subject to yearly adjustments.
Table 46, Production Schedule, shows current estimated annual production for the life of the operation.
Production began in 1983 with 21,500 tons mined. Production for 1984 was 187,492 tons. Full production will be
reached in 1998 at a peak of 10,000,000 tons per yeaz. Between 1998 and 2015, production will be maintained at a
.maximum, actual annual production dictated by market conditions.

Permit Renewal No. 3 2.05-9 1/IS/00