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N~ or 4~ME~ ri, ;~ -= --- P United States Department of the Interior •i- ; ~ o OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING ,~ Reclamation and Enforcement „~ ~ ,,,, BROOKS TOWERS 1020 15TH STREET DENVER, COLORADO 80202 MEMORANDUM __ T0: James R. Harris, Director, OSM ___. FROM: Allen D. Klein, Administrator, OSM, Western Technical Center SUBJECT: Recommendation for Salt Creek Mining Company's McClane Canyon Mine, Gunnison County, Colorado (Federal Lease No. C-0125439) I. Recommendation Pursuant to 30 CFR 741.21(a)(1), I recommend approval with stipulations of the McClane Canyon Mine permit application and mining and reclamation plan submit- ted by Salt Creek Mining Company. The mining and reclamation plan, with the adoption of the permit stipulations included with this memorandum, will be in conformance with the applicable Federal regulations, the requirements of the Colorado State Program, and the Mineral Leasing Act, as amended. I am also recommending that you advise the Assistant Secretary for Energy and Minerals, pursuant to 30 CRF 741.12(d), that the Salt Creek Mining Company's McClane Canyon Mine permit is ready for approval. The permit term will be three years. In addition, I concur that a performance bond for the amount of $53,750.00 is adequate. OSM and the State, in the course of the review, have identified some elements of the applicant's permit proposal which, in order to be in compliance with the Colorado State program and Federal laws, require stipulations. These con- ditions are attached to the proposed permit #CO-0026, and are included as part of the preferred alternative of those alternatives analyzed. (See the TEA on file in the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) Western Technical Center as part of the mining and reclamation plan, and in the office of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division [CMLRD].) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) provided a concurrence letter. In this letter they raised some suggestions after their concurrence. These suggestions were carefully considered and they were felt to have been answered or not currently pertinent since recent in- formation has answered these concerns. Consequently, it was felt no stipula- tions were necessary. II. Background The McClane Canyon Mine is an underground mine producing Federal coal. The mine is located in the Book Cliffs about 20 miles north of Loma, Colorado at an elevation of 5,800 feet with road access on State Route 139 (see maps). The mine is located on BLM land immediately northeast of the Garmesa Anticline and on the southern edge of the Piceance Basin. The mine is found in a typi- cal western Colorado Pinion-Juniper community on the flanks of the Book Cliffs in the Upper Cretaceous Mesa Verde Formation. Presently the mine is in a de- • velopmental stage, using continuous miners and a room and pillar mining meth- od. The mine has progressed approximately 1400 feet from the portal. The 1981 ~rpduction reached about 123,000 tons with a possible acceleration to 245,000 tons for 1982. A total of 369,500 tons is expected tp be mined over a Two ~r three •iear aer=pd. Mining after tear time depends upon ,vhat condi~ions are ancountared •.vhen the nine reaches the limbs of the graben.