Laserfiche WebLink
r West Elk Coal Company, Inc. <br />Post Olfice Box 541 <br />Somerset. Coloraao 81434 <br />Telephone 303 929 5015 <br />IIIIIIIIIIIIIlIIIII /~ <br />FEB 2 51986 <br />February 21,1986 <br />MINED U1PaD REC[.AR9gTlOsy <br />Calo. Dept. 09 Fre;+,ra9 Resourcas <br />I11r. Jim Pendleton <br />Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Division <br />1313 Sherman Street <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />Deer Jim: <br />As you are aware, West Elk Coal Company is currently development <br />mining the 1st South Panel off of the 1st West Submain at the Mt. <br />Gunnison No. 1 ,17ine (ChILRD Permit No. C-007-80). This panel has <br />been instrumented with a subsidence monitoring network as described <br />in the permit. Initial ground surveys have been performed to establish <br />baseline conditions. As described in the permit, we would very much <br />like to correlate an aerial survey to the ground surveys in order to <br />ascertain the accuracy and feasibility of performing future subsidence <br />monitoring by aerial photogrammetric methods. An aerial survey <br />series was performed before development mining was begun. The <br />aerial survey did not produce the required accuracy. However, both <br />WECC and the photogrammetric consultant feel that the inaccuracies <br />resulted from the panel target design and not from the aerial survey <br />itself. Tn order to correlate the aerial survey with ground surveys, a <br />new set of targets needs to be installed, another ground survey run, <br />and a new aerial survey run. Several problems have arisen which must <br />be solved. 1) Snow cover over the panel precludes an aerial survey <br />until mid-hlay or early June 2) Production of coal and shipping <br />requirements have increased causing the panel to be mined faster than <br />was earlier anticipated 3) Gloving the miner unit to another location <br />to wait for suitable weather to aerial survey would be very costly and <br />would be detrimental to our production; a scenario which we would <br />very much like to avoid in the existing poor economic conditions. <br />WECC is fully aware of the terms of the permit and stipulations and is <br />committed to gathering the subsidence monitoring data in a fully <br />acceptable and usable manner consistent with permit criteria. <br />However, we feel some alternatives may be available which will <br />satisfy permit requirements and at the same time allow us to begin <br />retreat mining the panel. <br />FndCC~d^_Oa <br />