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Exhibit 42A (Cont.) <br />Lone Pine Gulch Ventilation Facilities <br />(Technical Revision No. 93) <br />Project Description <br />Introduction <br />The Lone Pine Gulch Portals are situated approximately one (1) mile west ofSomerset, <br />Colorado, at an elevation of approximately 6,480 feet. Access is gained by traveling <br />approximately 1 %: miles on an existing gravel light-use road with a locked gate, south of <br />Highway 133. <br />The Lone Pine Fan Facility was constructed in 1995, accessing the B-Seam, [o serve the <br />West Elk Mine as the primary ventilation facility for the then completed Northwest <br />Longwall Panels (Nos.l-7); the Jumbo Mountain Longwall Panels (Nos. 8 and 9), and <br />Southern Longwall Panels (Nos. 12, 13, 13A). These 12 longwall panels have now been <br />isolated underground from the active workings, using explosion resistant seals, and the <br />entire area is now abandoned. <br />The active workings are currently ventilated by the Shaft Fan Facility, Shaft No. 3, and <br />the F-Seam Fan Facility in Sylvester Gulch. <br />Considering the risk of spontaneous combustion, the lazge area that was being ventilated, <br />and a thermal event in January 2000, it is in the best interests of human health and safety <br />for MCC to take the Lone Pine Gulch Fan Facility out of service. This requires MCC to <br />dismantle the fan, seal the portals, install watertight bulkheads, backfill the portals, and <br />permanently reclaim the area. Currently, MCC has installed the explosion resistant seals <br />and is dismantling the fan facility in preparation for the installation and construction of <br />the bulkheads. <br />The bulkheads will be constructed using apoly-grout (MICON 550 MPG)/ aggregate <br />mixture and constructed between steel-sets previously constructed in the portals. Rods <br />and bolts will be drilled into the surrounding rock surfaces a minimum of four feet and <br />the bulkheads will be hitched into the ribs. Concrete block will serve as forms for the <br />bulkheads. The area around the perimeter of the bulkheads will be ring grouted to form a <br />watertight barrier and upon completion will form a formidable barrier capable of <br />withstanding 130 feet of water head pressure. <br /> <br />