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20 and the northeast part of Section 29, where Wolf Creek Coal may be mined. The initial boxcut <br /> will be located in the northeast area of Section 17, and progress upgradient to the southeast. Mining <br /> in the next permit term will continue in the neck area, moving southward through the eastern portion <br /> of Section 17. Mining will be completed in Sections 19 and 20. <br /> The Wadge coal seam is overlain by 50 to 60 feet of sandstones, with interbedded shales and <br /> siltstones. The thickness of the Wadge coal to be mined is 9 to 13 feet. The Wolf Creek coal seam <br /> is overlain by 150 to 215 feet of sandstones, shales, siltstones, and thin coals. The Wolf Creek seam, <br /> in the area to be mined, ranges from 12 to 18 feet in thickness. <br /> Production rates at the mine for the first permit term will average 816,500 tons per year. The mine <br /> is expected to operate until 2004, producing a total of 8,159,400 tons of coal. <br /> The mining process includes clearing of vegetation, topsoil removal, overburden blasting and <br /> removal, and coal blasting and removal. Reclamation will be contemporaneous with mining, and <br /> includes backfilling, grading, topsoil redistribution, and reestablishment of vegetation. <br /> Vegetation will be cleared and either disposed of in the active pit, or placed on reclaimed areas for <br /> use by wildlife as cover. <br /> Topsoil will be removed in advance of mining operations by scraper equipment, and will then be <br /> stockpiled or redistributed when possible. Stockpiles will be temporarily stabilized with the <br /> establishment of vegetation. <br /> Overburden will be blasted and removed with a dragline, then spoiled into the previous pit. The <br /> initial box cut spoil will be temporarily placed on an adjacent unmined area, and the spoil <br /> subsequently double handled for placement back in the pit once the next pit has been opened. <br /> Coal is ripped or shot, removed by loader, and transported via Road A to the Hayden Station power <br /> plant or to the Hayden Gulch Loadout facility. <br /> No crushing, screening, or washing of coal is proposed. Since no coal processing is planned, the <br /> operation will not produce coal mine waste. Non-coal waste will be disposed of offsite at an <br /> approved dump site. <br /> Spoiled overburden is graded by bulldozers to approximate original contour. Several drainages will <br /> be reconstructed in the mined areas. Topsoil is redistributed by scrapers to an average thickness of <br /> 1.8 feet. The approved reclamation seed mix will then be drill seeded in the fall. If topsoil <br /> redistribution is completed in the spring a cover crop will be sown, followed by the permanent mix <br /> in the fall. Concentrated islands of seeded and transplanted shrubs will be established on <br /> approximately five percent of the reclaimed area. <br /> At the end of mining, all surface facilities will be removed, the areas regraded,topsoil redistributed, <br /> and revegetation accomplished as described above. <br /> Yoast Mine 15 October 19, 1999 <br />