PERMFILE60338

• Permit No: C1981022
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 12/11/2001
• Section_Exhibit Name: EXHIBIT 2.04-E1 LAND USE AND EXISTING CONDITIONS
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

August 1999 Appendix G Page G-5
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The Hawk's Nest portal areas were reclaimed during 1990 and 1991 by the Colorado Division of
Minerals and Geology after bond forfeiture. The mine portals were sealed, all surface facilities
were removed, and the areas were contoured and seeded.
King Mine
The King Mine was located in Sections 3, 10 and 11, T13S, R91 W, and produced coal from
1903 to 1975. The mine initially utilized a pick and shovel method of operation. The early mine
plant consisted of a stable, mules, blacksmith shop, and steam plant and pump. In later years,
the coal was shot and loaded with mechanized loading machines. The coal was initially hauled
from the portal with wagon teams. A tramway from the mine was completed in 1907. A four-
track tipple was used to load the coal onto rail cars. The mine supplied coal to a mine mouth
electric power generating station from 1922 until about 1949. The power plant supplied
electricity to. the surrounding area. The King Mine produced from the B seam. Previous
operators of the property included Jack, Alex and Wallace Bowie (1903-1917), Juanita Coal and
Coke Company (1917-1974), and Adolph Coors Company (1974-1995). The mine produced a
variety of tonnage ranging from a low of 1,049 tons in 1906 to a high of 103,622 tons in 1920.
In total, the mine produced 2,996,248 tons or an average of approximately 41,615 tons per
year. In 1995, the Adolph Coors Company sold the property to Bowie Resources, and the
Bowie No. 2 Mine was developed.
Orchard Valley Mlne
The Orchard Valley Mine was opened in 1976 at the site of the old Converse Mine in the SW'/+,
NW'/., Section 24, T13S, R92W. The Orchard Valley Mine was owned and operated by
Colorado Westmoreland Inc. The mine produced coal from the D seam from 1976 to1993. A
total of 5,726,166 tons were mined Trom the Orchard Valley Mine, at an average of
approximately 716,021 tons per year.
Colorado Westmoreland Inc. also built a modern trairrloadout facility adjacent to the North Fork
of the Gunnison River in portions of Sections 31, 32 and 29, T13S, R91 W. This facility included
a truck dump station, coal silos, and a coal train loadout, along with a spur line from the main
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad line.
In June 1986, the Orchard Valley Mine was closed after a mine fire. The mine re-opened
through west portals in January 1987. The property, including the mining operation and the
loadout were later sold to Cyprus Coal Company in 1994, who in turn sold to Bowie Resources,
Ltd. in 1996. The Orchard Valley Mine was renamed the Bowie No. 1 Mine, and the associated
coal loadout facilities near Paonia became known as the Bowie No. 1 Loadout.
Sanborn Creek Mlne
In 1990, the Somerset Mining Company developed and opened the new Sanborn Creek Mine in
the C seam. This mine utilizes the surface facilities at the location of the old Somerset Mine.
The Sanborn Greek Mine has continued operations through a series of names including:
Somerset Mining Company (1990-1995), Pacfic Basin Resources (1995-1996), and Oxbow
Mining, Inc. (1997-present). While ownership entities appear to have changed over the period
from 1990 through present, Oxbow Carbon and Minerals, Inc. has remained in ownership since
the start of the mine. Mine personnel and operations have generally remained stable.
North Fork Coal • Dratt Environmental Impact Statement