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II.B. Coal-Processing Wastes <br />Coal from the Hawk's Nest Mine is mined primarily from the E Seam of the <br />Paonia member of the Mesa Verde formation (see Section III.B, site geology). <br />Some overlying and underlying sediments associated with this four ft seven in <br />to over twelve ft thick seam are removed with the coal and transported to the <br />surface. At the wash plant the coal is separated from the waste rock by water <br />flotation. The waste rock is now hauled by truck to the Delta County Landfill <br />2 miles east of Hotchkiss, Colorado. The fine material in the wash water, the <br />fines slurry, is returned to the 5 acre-ft lagoon of the main sump in the mine. <br />Fines from the slurry settle out in the lagoon and water from the sump is re- <br />circulated to the wash plant. Water used in the coal wash process comes from <br />the North Fork Gunnison River and from groundwater that accumulates in the <br />mine sump. <br />• The proposed waste disposal system will transfer all material mined from <br />the E Seam back to this strata in the mine. As noted in Section II the waste <br />material, once dewatered will have a 10-15 percent moisture content. Makeup <br />water of approximately 60 gpm to offset this loss will come from the North Fork <br />Gunnison River. Of the 100 tons/hr waste material (Section II.A) approximately <br />12 tons/hr wi]1 be fine material removed from the fines slurry and 88 tons/hr <br />will be coarse material. Fine and coarse material will be combined and pneu- <br />matically placed in mined areas to be backfilled. <br />The physical and chemical characteristics of the refuse material derived <br />from the mine wash plant and presently hauled away have been determined. By <br />size, as determined by round-hole screens, 10.49% was >3 in round; 26.69% <br />>1 in-3 in round; 35.74% >1/4 in-1 in round, and 24.01% was >1/4 in round. <br />• Proximate analysis of the material indicated composite percent moisture of <br />13 <br />