Laserfiche WebLink
In the event the highwall proves to be unstable over the entries either a steel arch, mats, and/or concrete will be <br />installed to stabilize the area. The entries will be driven from the Main North workings, and approximately 13,000 <br />,tons of coal will be mined during the development of these entries. The entries will be approximately 900 feet in <br />length. The location of the entries is shown on Map 23. <br />When the entries are no longer needed, they will be sealed per the procedure given on page .OS-119, d the <br />approved typical seal is shown on Figure 15. After constmction of the seals is completed the site wr a ackfilled <br />in accordance with the approved plan. No additional work, except for seal construction, will be required as a result <br />of developing the eastern portals. <br />Minine Method <br />The mining method planned for the Foidel Creek Mine is a combined system of room and pillar and longwall <br />mining. Both mining methods aze successfully used in western U.S. coal operations having similar mining <br />conditions. <br />Room and Pillar Minine <br />Room and pillar mining refers to the extraction of rooms (mine openings) and pillars using a continuous mining <br />machine. Rooms are mined on development and the pillars are extracted during retreat. This mining method has <br />been the backbone of the U.S. coal mining industry and it owes its popularity to its relatively low cost and <br />flexibility. This method easily adapts to changes in the geological and physical conditions of the mine. Continuous <br />miners can negotiate tectonically disturbed areas of the mend and adapt to seam variations and uneven reserve <br />blocks. The continuous miner sections equipment can easily be transported to different locations in the mine and <br />total production is only proportionately affected by stoppages of any one unit. <br />• The productivity of a continuous miner unit in room and pillar extraction is less than longwall mining under most <br />conditions and thus more expensive in opemting cost per ton. The overall coal recovery seldom exceeds 55 to 60 <br />percent due to the necessity to leave barriers and pillar stumps. <br />Lonewall Minin <br />Longvvall mining has gained great acceptance and is increasing in popularity in the U.S., primarily because of its <br />inherent advantages for high productivity, low opemting cost, high reserve recovery, and high safety record. Longwell <br />mining derived its name from the several hundred-foot long faces from which coal is cut. Longwell panels are huge, <br />solid blocks of coal laid out several thousands of feet long by several hundreds of feet wide. Extraction is by a <br />powerful cutting machine with huge drums which rips slices of coal from the block. All work takes place under a <br />canopy of hydraulic steel supports. The roof supports are placed in a straight line with skin to skin contact separating <br />the work area from the cave. The cutting step is followed by advance of the steel supports in a continuous cycle of <br />operation. Longwell mining achieves upward of 75 percent recovery because the entire seam is extracted in major <br />blocks. TCC stresses the importance of maximizing resource recovery. Hopefully, the Foidel Creek Mine has the <br />reserves, conditions and the coal blocks suitable for this superior mining technology. Longwell mining also has a <br />superior record of safety. <br />Production <br />The annual amount of production will be dictated by market demand and as such, is subject to yearly adjustments. <br />Table 46, Production Schedule, shows current estimated annual production for the life of the operation. <br />Production began in 1983 with 21,500 tons mined. Production for 1984 was 187,492 tons. Full production will be <br />reached in 1998 at a peak of 10,000,000 tons per yeaz. Between 1998 and 2015, production will be maintained at a <br />.maximum, actual annual production dictated by market conditions. <br /> <br />Permit Renewal No. 3 2.05-9 1/IS/00 <br />