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t <br />a <br />LaPLATA NO. 1 MINE <br />COAL MINING OPERATION <br />LaPLATA COUNTY, COLORADO <br />Summary <br />The LaPlata No. 1 mine is an underground Bituminous coal <br />mine situated in Hay Gutch on County Road 120, 5 miles Southwest <br />of Hesperus in LaPlata County, Colorado (See attached General Location <br />fvlap) . Coal has been commercially produced at the mine periodically <br />since 1905. A total of 20,000 tons of coal has been extracted from <br />the mine during this limeframe. The last coal production at the <br />mine was in January 1988 when MSHA closed the operation for ten <br />safety violations. <br />The existing mine portals are located in the upper Menefee <br />seam. The elevation of the portals are approximately 7,600 feet <br />above sea level. <br />Geology <br />The mine is situated in Southwest Colorado in the San Juan <br />River Region, Durango coal field, the Menefee formation. Coal beds <br />in the Menefee formation comprise the most significant coal resource <br />in the Durango coal field and the only ones being mined at the present <br />time. Most of the coal from this area is sold locally for domestic <br />and industrial pw-poses. <br />The Hesperus area is located on the Northwestern flank of <br />the San Juan Basln which contains rocks of quaternary and Cretaceous <br />age. The Menefee formation is the middle formation of the Mesa Verde <br />Group and is classified as High Volatile A and B bituminous coal. <br />This area is characterized by gentle southerly dips ranging <br />from 2 to 7 degrees away from the structural high of the LaPlata <br />Mountains to the north. The mine area is drained by one perennial <br />drainage known as liay Gulch. tlay Gulch runs in a southwest direction <br />and flows into the LaPlata river located approximately 8 miles from <br />the mine. Most ground water is limited to the amount found in wells <br />in the alluvial material in the base of Hay Gulch. Minor or no water <br />his been encountered during the existing and past underground <br />mining operations. <br />No faulting is apparent in the permit area of the mine but has <br />been reported in the vicinity of the Hesperus mine, 3 miles to the <br />northeast. <br />Coal Reserves <br />Two coal seams have been identified on the property to be <br />commercially recoverable. Both seams are in lice Menefee formation. <br />The existing mine portals are located in the Upper Menefee seam <br />