Laserfiche WebLink
Summary <br />The Review Process <br />The King Coal Mine was originally opened around ]941 and for many years it was operated by <br />Viola Smith. The site was permitted by National King Coal Inc. in 1982 and the Permit has been <br />successfully renewed every five years since [hen. The company was purchased by American <br />Metals & Coal International (AMCI) and reincorporated as National King Coal LLC (NKC), in <br />June, 1995. <br />National King Coal, LLC, received its last 5-yeaz permit renewal on August 18, 1997. The <br />Division received Permit Revision 06 on October 20, 1997. It was deemed complete, and on <br />October 30, 1997, the Division sent out notices that an application to revise a valid coal mining <br />permit was received. A preliminary adequacy review was sent to NKC on January 6,1998. <br />Comments were received on January 26, 1998, which addressed the concerns of the Division. <br />During the entire review process, no public comments were received by the Division concerning <br />this permit renewal/revision. AVS checks were conducted several times during the review, the <br />final one on July 6, 1998, which recommended a conditional issue. <br />Permit Revision 06 adds an additional 195 acres to the permitted azea for expansion of <br />underground mining activities. <br />Description of the Environment <br />The King Coal Mine is located approximately seven miles southwest of Hesperus, Colorado along <br />La Plata County Road 120 in Hay Gulch. The site can be located on the Hay Gulch and Loma <br />Linda 7.5 minute USGS quadrangle maps. <br />Regional Geology <br />The proposed permit azea lies in the upper rim of the San Juan Basin. This basin is an asymmetric <br />structural basin in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado. Sedimentary rocks in <br />the area are of both marine and non-marine origin. <br />The formation of interest in the area of the mine site is the Mesaverde Group which overlies the <br />Mancos Shale. The Mesaverde Group is composed of three major units (in ascending order): <br />Point Lookout Sandstone, Menefee Formation, and Cliffhouse Sandstone. <br />Two coal seams are exposed on the property of which only the upper seam of the Menefee <br />formation has been developed. The upper seam has a thickness varying between 50-74 inches. <br />The coal seam is overlain by a few inches of interbedded sandstone, shale, carbonaceous shale, <br />and coal which in turn are overlain by a massive sandstone which stands well. <br />The lower seam is well exposed to the northwest of the property at the Burnwell Mine (another <br />1940's operation which was never permitted since SMCRA). This seam has an average observed <br />4 <br />