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skunk, long-tailed weasel, beaver and cottontail rabbit. Aviarians <br />include the golden eagle, red-tailed hawk, rough-legged hawk, <br />sparrow hawk, turkey vulture, scaled quail, turkey, pigeon, <br />mourning dove, raven, magpie, crow and pinon jay. <br />No aquatic species exist due to the ephemeral nature of the streams <br />in the area. <br />Land Use <br />Prior to the Southfield mining operation, the land uses for the <br />permitted area were grazing and historic mining. Both the loadout <br />and mine area were limited to rangeland and wildlife habitat. Land <br />use and productivity in the Southfield mine and loadout areas is <br />limited by the relatively arid climate, limited water availability, <br />poorly developed soils, and various socioeconomic factors. <br />Upon completion of mining and related activities, EFCI will return <br />the disturbed areas to the prevailing land uses of rangeland and <br />wildlife habitat which existed prior to development. <br />Further information on landuse can be found in Section 2.04.3 of <br />the permit application. <br />Description of the Operation and Reclamation Plan <br />Energy Fuels Coal, Inc proposes to continue mining approximately <br />300,000-500,000 tons of coal per year from the Southfield for the <br />next permit term. It is a distinct possibility that the mine will <br />complete the extraction of coal reserves presently permitted during <br />this permit term. Estimation of coal reserves at present mining <br />rates indicate that in late 1996 the Southfield Mine will reach its <br />limit for extractable coal. Description of both the operation and <br />reclamation plan can be found in Section 2.05.3 of Volume 1 and <br />Section 2.05.4 of Volume 2 respectively, in the permit application. <br />A brief description of each follows. <br />Operation Plan <br />Coal is mined, washed, stockpiled and then trucked from the mine <br />site to market or stored at the loadout. Coal mine waste is <br />disposed of in a permitted refuse pile located at the mine site. <br />Coal is mined by the room and pillar method, using continuous <br />miners. Coal is transported from the working sections of the mine <br />to the surface by a belt conveyor, and then dumped in a raw coal <br />stockpile. Raw coal is sized, crushed and cleaned by gravity <br />separation in the preparation plant at the mine site. A belt press <br />is then used to dry the coal prior to transfering the coal to <br />stockpiles where it is eventually trucked off site. <br />17 <br />