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iii-iiiiiiiiiiiii iii <br />999 <br />DAILY SENTINEL <br />Grand Junction, GO <br />tMesa Gounryl <br />M Flpl'!'t• 3t Bt2', S~Su(AM). 36.23' <br />Stacie Dutton <br />Daily Sentinel <br />'afr AgSERVICE <br />-5117 <br />,,cowxa -~ <br />Nucla open-pit c ao 1 mine dedicate <br />An open-pit coal mine on the <br />western boundary of the city of <br />Nucla, which will feed an <br />advanced-technology power plant <br />there, was dedicated this week. <br />The New Horizon Mine has <br />been under construction since <br />February. Strip coal mining began <br />in mid-May. <br />The mine is owned by Tri-State <br />Generation and Transmission, the <br />wholesale electric supplier [hat <br />took over former Colorado-Ute <br />assets. <br />Later this summer, when the <br />refurbishing of the Nucla fluid- <br />ized coalbed power plant is com- <br />pleted, the mine is expected to <br />supply between 29,000 and 33,000 <br />tons of coal a month to the plant. <br />The power plant is one of about <br />six in the nation that uses lime- <br />stone burned with powdered coal <br />to reduce sulfur-dioxide emis~ <br />sions, making the plant four times <br />cleaner than traditional coal-fired <br />plants. <br />Providing about 25 yobs to local <br />residents, the mine is expected to <br />provide some economic boast to <br />the Nucla area. <br />The mine currently has an ini- <br />tial air-quality permit that must be <br />finalized later this year. A permit <br />from the state mining regulators is <br />also in place and requires the <br />operators to reclaim land as they <br />mine, to limit blasting and to be <br />responsible to any damage to <br />neighboring houses. <br />