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Major equipment to be utilized during the life of the <br />permit area will include a 7-yd hydraulic front shovel, 50 ton <br />trucks, front end loaders, a bulldozer and a hydraulic backhoe. <br />Several steps have been and will be taken to insure <br />maximum coal recovery within the permitted area. First, the <br />geology of the area, coal quality and quantity were delineated <br />by closely-spaced drilling during the exploration program (see <br />Geology Section, Appendix C). The exploration program provided <br />the necessary data to develop a mine plan that maximizes economic <br />coal recovery. During the production phase of the operation, <br />quality and quantity of the coal will be closely tracked by <br />sampling the coal and surveying the pit at regular intervals. <br />(2) Operation Description <br />This section is best illustrated by Figure 2. A portion <br />of the anticipated future mining area is also shown on this figure. <br />However, any future operations will be on Federal lands which are <br />not under lease at this time and have not been explored sufficiently <br />to accurately delineate a mining area. <br />2.05.3 Operation Plan - Permit Area <br />(1) Production Methods and Equipment <br />As shown on Figure 2, the permit area is divided into <br />two mining areas (Pit 1 and Pit 2) due to a zone of uneconomic <br />coal between. The mining method and type of equipment is identical <br />in both Pit 1 and Pit 2. <br />Pit 1 follows the Sudduth coal outcrop to the south and <br />southwest. Dtaximum economic mining depth is about 170 feet <br />depending on the dip and thickness of *_he coal. ^he dip of the <br />coal will vary from 34 to 28 degrees and the thickness from 12 to <br />22 feet. The resulting economic stripping ratio is about 5.5 BCy <br />overburden per ton of coal recovered. <br />_~~_ <br />