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West Elk Mine <br />• 2.05.3 Operation Plan -Permit Area <br />(1) Production Methods and Equipment <br />The production methods and equipment in use at West Elk Mine are described above in Section <br />2.05.2. <br />(2) Operation Description <br />MCC plans to mine two coal seams, the B and E Seams. Longwell mining operations will <br />continue in the B Seam during the current permit term. Longwell development in the E Seam was <br />be initiated in late 2004, with longwall mining of the E Seam projected to begin in 2008, <br />F Seam <br />After mining operations in the B Seam were fully operational, MCC discontinued mining in the F- <br />Seam. Map 50 shows where MCC has mined in the F Seam to date. MCC currently has no plans <br />for further mining of the F Seam. <br />E Seam <br />Mining plans for the E Seam are presented on Map 51. <br />• B Seam <br />Mining of the B Seam will continue during the current permit term, Map 52 shows Mountain <br />Coal Company's plans for mining the B Seam within the permit area. <br />Manpower Requirements <br />Existing and projected manpower requirements aze shown in Table 32 for the permit term. <br />Projected manpower requirements are based on projected production levels to fulfdl existing <br />and anticipated contracted coal sales. These projected requirements are subject to change for <br />various reasons. New contracts may require revisions to the figures. <br />(3) Mine Facilities <br />West Elk Mine's major surface facilities aze located 1 mile east of the town of Somerset, Colorado, <br />and just south of State Highway 133. Access to the mine is through the F Seam, with the F Seam <br />portals at an elevation of approximately 6,450 feet AMSL in an azea of covered slope and semi- <br />consolidated slump debris. Additionally, access is provided through the intake air shaft in Sylvester <br />Gulch. Exhibit 15 is cross-sections along the portal entry to the subcrop of the F Seam. Map 33 is a <br />location map of the portal entries. Map 53 also shows the location of the portals. Slopes within the <br />mine provide access from the F Seam down to the B Seam. These same slopes will also provide <br />• access to the intermediate E Seam. <br />1.05-I S Revised November 2004 PRIO <br />