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• II. DESCRIPTION OF THE ALTERNATIVES INCLUDING THE PROPOSED ACTION <br />A. Alternative 1 - Proposed Action <br />The proposed action is to issue coal lease COC 60941 <br />which contains approximately 194.79 acres of coal bed 1 <br />reserves. The estimated minable coal reserves for coal <br />bed 1 within the lease application area is 964,000 tons <br />with approximately 646,000 tons estimated as being <br />recoverable. This proposed lease application area would <br />be mined as an extension of the existing National King <br />Coal mine. At the current rate of production (200,000- <br />250,000 tons/yr) the life of the mine would be extended <br />by approximately 3 years. National King Coal is <br />{ implementing changes to allow for a 300,000 tons/yr <br />production rate which would mean that the proposed lease <br />area would extend the life of the mine by about 2.2 <br />years. The tract is adjacent to the COC 49465 lease on <br />the furthest north boundary of the tract and on the <br />southeast side of the tract. The Huntington fee lease <br />lies in between portions of the east side of the lease <br />application area and existing Federal leases held by <br />National King Coal. <br /> The applicant proposes to enter the proposed lease area <br />• via existing underground workings from the north and <br /> project the underground mine workings to the south using <br /> the room-and-pillar method of mining. The mining plan <br /> consists of development of main and submain entries off <br /> of which panels are driven for pillar extraction. The <br /> pillars in panels will be square or rectangular in shape <br /> and developed on 60- or 70-foot centers with the entries <br /> 18 feet wide. This allows for proper ventilation and <br /> systematic pillar recovery. <br />The existing surface Facilities would be used to support <br />continued mining activity at the King Coal Mine. No <br />additional surface disturbance would occur. It is <br />anticipated that production, employment and truck traffic <br />rate would remain the same throughout the remaining life- <br />of-the-mine. <br />Compliance With the Land Use Plan <br />This application is considered to be in compliance with <br />the existing BLM land use plan. That plan, the San <br />Juan/San Miguel Resource Management Plan (RMP), was <br />completed and approved in September, 1985. The <br />information in the approved land use plan determined that <br />the area was suitable for coal development and coal <br />production could occur without conflicting with other <br />land uses. <br />5 <br />