Laserfiche WebLink
• If you concur with this recommendation, please sign the attached memorandum to the <br />Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management. <br />II. Background <br />The King Coal underground coal mine is located in La Plata County, Colorado. The mine <br />has been in operation since 1941 and currently employs sixty-five (65) people during full <br />production. The life of the currently approved mining operations within the approved <br />permit area is estimated to be 2 years. The mining operations use room-and-pillar mining <br />methods. The average production rate is 0.6 million tons per year from the Menefee Coal <br />Bed No.l coal seam, but the maximum production rate could reach the approved 0.61 <br />million tons per year. <br />The original mining plan for Federal leases C-29125 and P-058300 at the King Coal Mine <br />was approved on June 20, 1982. Since that approval there have been four mining plan <br />modifications for the King Coal mine. New Federal lease COC-49465 was approved on <br />July 22, 1992. A mining plan modification for Federal lease COC-49465 and new Federal <br />lease C-29125 was approved on October 22, 1997. New Federal lease COC-60941 was <br />approved on December 28, 1998. A mining plan modification for Federal lease COC- <br />60941 was approved on March 23, 2001. <br />In addition, National King Coal, LLC mined approximately 492,000 tons of coal on lands <br />• owned by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Indians under Federal permit CO-OlOlA. No <br />surface disturbance was necessary since access was provided through existing mine <br />workings. Phase III bond release for Federal permit CO-OlOlA was granted on January <br />29.2004. <br />The State's current permit area covers 2,092 acres. <br />Approximately 11 surface acres are disturbed within the State's permit area. <br />A total of 1,209 acres of Federal coal exist within the State's current permit area. <br />A total of 0.5 million tons of Federal coal remain within the current permit area. <br />No Federal surface lands exist within the State's current permit area. <br />The post mining land use within the currently approved mining plan area is rangeland, <br />pastureland, and crop land. <br />III. The Proposed Action <br />This mining plan action consists of a new mining plan for Federal lease COC-62920. <br />Specifically, the mining plan action proposed by National King Coal, LLC consists of: <br />• <br />