REV92102

• Permit No: C1980007
• IBM Index Class Name: Revision
• Doc Date: 5/23/2007
• Doc Name: Letter, Application & Public Notice
• From: Mountain Coal Company
• To: DRMS
• Type & Sequence: TR109
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

~ MOUNTAIN (OAl
~~~(OMPANYL.L.C.
A Subsidiary o(Arch Western Reso~aces, LLC
May 23, 2007
Mr. Tom Kaldenbach
Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology
1313 Sherman Street, Room 215
Denver, CO 80203
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F^ West Ells Mine
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O P O Box 591
Somlerse[{, O`V 81434
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RE: Mountain Coal Company L.L.C., West Elk Mine; Permit C-80-007, Deer Creek
Shaft, Technical Revision No. 109, (TR-109).
Deaz Mr. Kaldenbach:
Mountain Coal Company, L.L.C. (MCC) submits the enclosed Technical Revision No. 109
application for the Deer Creek Shaft. The location of this shaft is on National Forest lands
in NE % of Section 32, T. 13 S, R. 90 W., 6`h P.M. The project is within MCCs coal
mining permit azea. The project is on Federal Coal Lease C-1362, held by MCC.
Proiect Plan
The proposed project plan consists o£
• using raised bore or raised bore/slash construction methods to bore the shaft from
underground within the mine to create a 24-feet diameter by 400-feet deep
(approximate) shaft and a 6-feet diameter by 400-feet deep (approximate)
emergency escape shaft;
• building a housing structure to enclose the emergency escape shaft and electrical
generation equipment for the emergency escape hoist;
• installing access control fencing;
• closing the shafts and performing final reclamation when these features are no
longer needed at the end of the mine life (circa 2020).
The purpose of the Deer Creek Shaft is to provide ventilation for the mine. This shaft will
be designed to function without a ventilation fan. The emergency escape shaft is proposed
to support the mine evacuation plans and meet Mine Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA) requirements for the mine. The emergency escape shaft is not planned to be an
active component of the mine ventilation system. Both the Deer Creek Shaft and the
emergency escape shaft will be built on the same existing pad.
Total existing disturbance of the proposed project is 1.9 acres. Since the expected
disturbance azea is small, MCC considers this project as a Small Area Exemption (SAE)
for sediment control purposes.
The attached Project Plan explains the schedule for this project. The soils engineering and
hydrologic conditions data was obtained during the 2006 construction season. The actual