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King Coat <br />gPOWS <br />HERALD/Nasty Pochmontl <br />The King Coal Mlne near Hesperus, pictured on Thursday, Is planning to expand its operation by 320 acres. <br />«I hate to say it about a mine, but (the proposed King <br />Coal Mine expansion) is pretty insignificant.~~ <br />mine expansion. <br />"There ,sill be slight subsidence cracks <br />that ma}' appear," Ranney said. "There is <br />a residence ... but it's highly unlikely (the <br />residents) will experience anything." <br />The cracks that may appear are rypi- <br />cally 3 to 4 inches wide and a couple of <br />feet deep, Peterson said. "The}' ll disap- <br />pearafter afar good rainstorms," he said. <br />No mining will occur directly under <br />the house, Ranney said, and that will pre- <br />ventany cracks that could affect the pmp- <br />erry owner. <br />The federal government owns the min- <br />eral rights to the mal, Peterson said, and <br />the surface o„7ters will likely' no[ be com- <br />pensated for any new mining. There were <br />no protests or problems Crom the surface <br />Harry Ranney, <br />Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology <br />owners, both Peterson and Ranney said. <br />The mine has disturbed about fl acres <br />of surface land for facilities and for stor- <br />age, but that hasn't changed since 1931 <br />and won't change as a result of this <br />expansion, Ranney said. <br />The additional 3?0 acres will not lead <br />to an increase in protlucton volume. <br />Parrs of the mine are rtow exhausted of <br />coal, and the addifion~'T'acreage will allow <br />production levels fo reinaht fhe'same. <br />"rUl we're doing is securing our (inure <br />for the next several years," Peterson said. <br />This expansion should be su@icicnt For at <br />least tvo }ears on current Production vol- <br />umes. <br />The King Coal Aline is the smallest <br />operational mine in Colorado, Kanner <br />said. Last yeah the state mined 2fl..5 mil- <br />lion rons of coal. King accounted for <br />about 0.6 percent of that coal. <br />There are 17 operational mines in the <br />state. <br />At one time, there were about 10 <br />mines' situated between Durango and <br />Hespen[s, Ranney said, but all except for <br />King Coal have shin down. <br />"There still is a lot of coal in the area, <br />but nvo things kill any coal expansion," <br />Ranney said. "(one is the market is way <br />drm~h. 'Cwo, there is no rail transport in <br />the near vicinity. That increases its costs <br />and, therefore, the market is just not <br />there." <br />The price of roal is lower now than it <br />was ?5 years ago, Peterson said. <br />"It's a prett}' tough industry to survive <br />in right now," he said. In Mav 1999, King <br />Coal laid off''?5 of iu 58 mnployees Ater <br />the mine was forced to scale back on pru- <br />duuion. The mine now employs 34 <br />employees. <br />This „~Il be the sccenth expansion <br />since 1981 for King Coal, Ranney said. <br />