GENERAL46377

• Permit No: C1981038
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 9/3/1992
• Doc Name: MINING PLAN MODIFICATION FOR FEDERAL LEASES
• From: OSM
• To: CYPRUS ORCHARD VALLEY COAL CORP
• Permit Index Doc Type: Other Permits
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

Top coal thieknae• wa• based on previous experience on this property in controlling
the roof by leaving top coal, with leaser thickneeeee of top coal not providing
• auffieiant support to the overlying weak mudetones.
To achieve the necessary productivity to remain competitive in the present end
foreeaesbl• coal market, Cypru^ identified the need to utilize new high productivity
remote control continuous miners operating in thick coal. Cyprus has proposed a
minimum mining height (present economic) of 9 feet and a maximum safe mining height
of 15 feet. As the roof control consideration dictates leaving three feet of top
coal these minimum and maximum mining heights increase to 12 and 1B feet,
respectively. Coal of this thickness i^ found only within the pod areas.
Tha three thick coal areas which were delineated, are located at the western, central
end northeastern portions of the property. COV is presently producing from the
central think pod, which ie projected to bs exhaustsd in late 1992 at the projected
production rate of 600,000 tons/year. Moat of the reserves within the central pod
were previously extracted through CWI in panel• in the adjacent •aaled workings and
by CWI and COV panels north of the west portal area, which provides accaee to the
eentrnl pod.
Ae the final production panels acceeeible through the 2nd Wast Submain• in the
central pod are exhausted, development of the 3rd Waet Submain~, through the split
area eeparsting the western and central thick pods should be complete. Tha 3rd West
Submaine provide accaee to the Western thick pod, which will provide mina production
out to the late 1990'e, assuming a projected production rata of 1,300,000 tone/year
from 1992 on.
As the final panels for the western pod era mined out, COV will attempt to enter the
old, sealed Orchard Valley workings by connecting the east and of the 2nd Wast
Submaina to the adjscant 1st North Mains. Rehabilitation work will ba conducted as
necessary, to restore ^afa erases and ventilation to the north and of the !(sins, Iran
which submains to the asst will be axtandad slonq the southern bovndsry of the
northeast thick pod. Again, production panels will be axtandad to the northern
boundary of the pod to the minimum mining height. This pod will provide 6-7 year
production at the projected mining rate of 1.3 million tons/year.
once this final thick pod i• exhausted, cov will attempt to develop the remaining
areas within the old Orchard Valley mine workings within their minimum mining height
and will than retreat the accaee eubmains and mains to these old workings, robbing
barrier pillar and chain pillar coal.
Secauee the possibility exists that future economics may improve and lower the
minimum mining height to include areas of split coal between the proposed mining
height cutoff of 9 feet down to 5 feet (8 feet total coal thickness with the 3 feet
of top coal), COV has also included a marginal future reserve base area which would
remain acceeeible to the final retreat of the mina. If, at that time, it was
economically feasible to exploit these reserves, COV would develop panels into these
split areas.

Two other coal seams, the B and C seams, underlie the D-seam on the property, but are
not presently considered aconamically recoverable. The coal resource in these seams
will not ba advarMly a!laetad by the recovery of the D-seam and will be available
for future raco~ery i! economics and/or mining methods allow.
Tha typical production panel layout to ba used by COV for all the pod areas is
essentially the design they are currently using under modification of the current
approved mina plan. Panels at full width era 600 feet wide, with an entry spacing of
75 feet and eroeaeut spacing of 120 feet. All panels era orientated at 45 degrees to
the cleat, for rib and roof stability and easier coal cutting. Development of the
panel to its full length (this ie eat by geologic structure and/or the pod boundary)
ie done with five entries. Split returns era run on the outside, the conveyor belt
in the middle entry, and separate intakes on either aide of the belt entry. One
intake is the diesel equipment haulage road, and the other intake i• the smoke-free
• escapeway. Belt air is used for face ventilation. Once development of the five
entries has reached the full panel length, rooms ere driven to one ^ida to the full
panel width concurrently with the retreat of the panel. Pillar recovery within the