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• conditions and reorientation of the panels in another mining <br />area. <br />(2) Extension of underground mining operations into a <br />new, lower coal seam (i.e., the B seam). The 800-acre B- <br />seam mining area would be mined using either longwall or <br />room and pillar mining methods. Approximately 500 acres <br />would lie directly under the currently approved F-seam <br />workings. <br />(3) Expansion of the permit and mining plan approval <br />area (35.5 acres) in Federal lease C-1362 to accommodate the <br />main entries to the B-seam mining area. <br />Access to the B seam would be made by ramps from the edge of <br />existing underground F-seam workings. Ventilation shafts <br />also would be driven between the F-seam workings and the B- <br />seam workings, but not to the surface. B-seam mining <br />activities would utili2e existing F-seam access and surface <br />facilities. No new facilities would be required, but waste <br />material from development of the B-seam ramp and mining <br />areas would be added to the existing lower-refuse pile. <br />The F and B seams would be mined simultaneously until the <br />reserves in the F seam were depleted, then mining would only <br />occur in the B seam. At full production, the average <br />• production rate would be about 2,800,000 tons per year when <br />mining the F and B seams simultaneously and 2,000,000 tons <br />per year mining only the B seam. Total Federal recoverable <br />coal reserves for the F seam and the B seam within the <br />proposed mining plan approval area would be about 32,000,000 <br />tons. <br />A chronology of events related to the processing of the <br />technical revision application is included with the decision <br />document. The information in the technical revision <br />application, as well as other information identified in the <br />decision document, has been reviewed by Colorado MLRD staff <br />in coordination with the OSM Project Leader. <br />During the review of the technical revision application, no <br />major issues were identified. <br />The public was notified of the availability of the technical <br />revision application for review by publication of a <br />newspaper notice on July 20, 1989. No public comments on <br />the technical revision application were received after the <br />public notice was published. <br />• <br />