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Explosives at the mine are only occasionally used for underground construction purposes. <br /> Very little explosives are required for this purpose. West Elk does have an explosives <br /> magazine located on site. <br /> The West Elk Mine portals are situated at an approximate elevation of 6,450 feet. <br /> Run-of-mine coal is transported from the production panels to the various surface facilities by <br /> a system of belt conveyors. A conveyor carries coal from inside the mine portal to the <br /> stacking tubes. From the stacking tubes, an underground conveyor reclaim system will <br /> transport the coal to the two crushers. A conveyor then moves the coal from the crushers to <br /> the two storage silos. A stacktube located to the east of the silos provides additional storage <br /> for product coal. A loadout conveyor carries coal from the storage silos to the over-the-track <br /> loadout. A portion of this conveyor is completely enclosed as it crosses the North Fork of <br /> the Gunnison River and Highway 133. Coal is primarily shipped from the West Elk Mine <br /> by rail; however, some coal :is trucked from the mine or transferred to various handling or <br /> stockpile facilities on the mire site. <br /> Refuse at the mine is generated during underground construction activities and mining. <br /> Other sources of refuse material are contaminated coal spillage, sediment pond dredgings, <br /> and soils contaminated with non-hazardous materials. These other sources of refuse only <br /> make up a small amount of the refuse produced at the mine. Refuse is currently being <br /> disposed onto a permanent refuse pile called the Lower Refuse Disposal Area. An Upper <br /> Refuse Disposal Area has also been approved for construction, and has not been built. <br /> Before the pile can be constructed, MCC must address a number of stipulations. <br /> State Highway 133 provides the main access to the West Elk Mine. A haul road joins the <br /> highway east of the lower refuse pile and serves as the access to all facilities except the silo <br /> storage area. An old haul road accesses this area and other lower mine facilities, which is <br /> now considered an access road. Other access roads include the middle-mine facilities road <br /> and the Sylvester Gulch fan road. The Lone Pine Gulch road has been designated as a light- <br /> use road and provides access to a ventilation fan. <br /> Surface runoff from the disturbed area is treated by five ponds. MB-1 is a large upper pond <br /> that holds mine discharge water and drainage from the upper areas of the site including the <br /> mine bench. MB-2R is the large lower pond which treats drainage from a majority of the <br /> site, including the lower refuse pile. MB-3 is a small lower pond which treats drainage from <br /> the silo storage area. MB-4 serves the train loadout area and MB-5 treats drainage at the old <br /> Bear Mine site. Mountain Coal Company also has a freshwater pond, designated FW-1, <br /> which provides two months' storage capacity for potable and domestic water uses. Another <br /> proposed freshwater pond, FW-2, has not been constructed at this time and is not planned for <br /> construction during this permit term. <br /> Topsoil storage areas are located on the east side of the surface facilities. This is known as <br /> the main topsoil stockpile and will be used during reclamation to cover the majority of the <br /> disturbance to a depth of 12 to 18 inches. Other topsoil and subsoil piles are located south <br /> of the lower refuse pile and on the reclaimed benches. These piles will primarily be used to <br /> cover the refuse pile with 18 to 24 inches of soil. <br /> The permit area covers approximately 8,040acres. Of this total, about 108 acres are <br /> disturbed, which primarily includes surface facilities. Surface lands are privately and <br /> 14 <br />