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CHAPTERTWO Alternatives <br />provide adequate reserves fora 20- to 30-year mine life. These reserves would be accessible <br />from the proposed Red Cliff Mine portals. <br />The McClane Canyon Mine coal provides resources for Xcel Energy's Cameo power plant. <br />CAM plans to continue to deliver coal to the power plant by truck as long as the plant continues <br />operation and CAM has the supply contract, averaging 230 truckloads per week. When the <br />McClane Canyon Mine is shut down, trucks would originate from the Red Cliff Mine. With <br />increased production and the railroad connection, coal produced from the Red Cliff Mine could <br />be transported (sold) to power plants in the eastern and western portions of the country. The coal <br />is high-quality, low-sulfur coal with a heating value of 11,000 to 11,500 British thermal units <br />(Btu). <br />The proposed Red Cliff Mine project area, in relation to the McClane Canyon Mine, is located <br />approximately 11 miles north of the towns of Mack and Loma, Colorado, and 1.5 miles east of <br />Colorado SH 139, as shown on Figure 1-3, Red Cliff Mine Project Location. Development of <br />the Red Cliff Mine would require a capital investment of approximately $160 million <br />(2006 dollars). An anticipated 200 to 250 full-time employees would be needed for operation of <br />the Red Cliff Mine. <br />Coal reserves would be recovered through underground mining in the Cameo Seam using both <br />room-and-pillar and longwall mining techniques. Conventional room-and-pillar mining would <br />utilize continuous miners and shuttle cars with belt haulage. Longwall gate entries and bleeders <br />would be developed with continuous miners and shuttle cars. Longwall mining uses a drum <br />shearer, conveyors, and shields. Retreat mining is conducted to attain the maximum recovery <br />consistent with the safety and protection of mine personnel and surface protection. Further <br />information on these two mining techniques is included in Appendix B, Mining Operations and <br />Subsidence. The production rate at the mine would be controlled by market conditions. The <br />minimum production rate would be about 2,000,000 tpy, with an expected maximum production <br />of 8,000,000 tpy. <br />Recovery of the coal reserve will cause surface subsidence. Subsidence is related to the coal <br />extraction ratio, overburden depth, and the geologic setting. The mine can be designed to control <br />or minimize surface subsidence. Important surface features would be protected by careful mine <br />design. Most of the area to be undermined is steep mountainous terrain where mine design to <br />control or minimize subsidence would not be required. Some gas wells overlying the mine area <br />may be plugged or "mined around." Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Rules <br />(30CFR75.1700) require underground mines to maintain a 300-foot-diameter solid coal barrier <br />around all active or inactive gas and oil wells, unless a smaller barrier is approved by MSHA. <br />Additional information regarding subsidence is included in Appendix C, Subsidence. <br />2.10.3 Railroad Spur <br />General Information <br />Significant mining of these coal reserves has not occurred because of the remote location and <br />difficulties and cost to transport the coal to market. A key element of the proposal is the railroad <br />spur from the Red Cliff Mine to the railroad main line near Mack, Colorado. <br />2-32 <br />