PERMFILE129407 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Loma Seam ' The uppermost seam in the section remains officially unnamed, however, for identification purposes, it is referred to as the Loma Seam. The Loma Seam does not attain a mineable thickness within the boundaries of the exploration azea. Carbonera Zone Most of this coal seam is split into thin stringers scattered through 100 feet or more of section. The Cazbonera's lenticulaz bedding and thin split seam deposition makes mining ui the Carbonera Zone problematic. Cameo Seam Current data and projections verify the Cameo Seam is present as either one or two seams throughout the exploration azea. As two separate or one total sean~, the Cameo is at least 17 feet thick throughout the exploration area. Palisade Zone The Palisade zone includes several thus stringers of coal. Stratigraphically it is more than 300 ' feet lower than the Cazneo seam in the exploration azea. The sulfur content of the Palisade Seam is significantly greater than the Cameo, The Palisade Seam may not be mineable because of depth of overburden, seani thickness, and quality problems. Water Resources The exploration azea lies north of the Graud Valley in the rugged ten•ain drained by Big Salt Wash and its deeply incised tributaries. These tributaries aze intermittent by definition. The ephemeral channels flow generally southwest and southeast through the exploration azea to the ' Colorado River, a distance of about 20 miles. The ephemeral channels flow only in direct response to precipitation in the immediate watershed or in response to the melting of a cover of snow or ice. The occurrence of ground water in the exploration azea is controlled mostly by the combination of the local topography, stratigraphy and geologic structure. Water bearing strata aze developed in alluvial sediments along the local streams and in the bedrock. Bedrock aquifers aze contained in sandstone shata and locally in the coal seams. The erratic location of these perched groundwater occurrences, low transmissivity and permeability, and the absence of development and exploitation diminishes the possibility of being used as a groundwater resource in the foreseeable future. The Book Cliffs Coal Field azea is considered a desert and oiily a few springs exist within the coal beazing strata. Most of the mines in the Book Cliffs Coal field aze dry because most of them have been developed above the local streambeds. The McClane Canyon mine encountered water because it is below the local streambed. Vegetation Five vegetation types characterize the proposed exploration area and surrounding azea. They include a Greasewood Sluubland, Big Sagebrush Shrubland, Shadscale Shrubland, Juniper Woodland and Mountain Shrubland.