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Wes! Elk Mine <br />the Gunnison River and State Highway 133 is completely enclosed. Primary and secondary <br />walkways were constructed along the conveyor. The conveyor structure is steel. <br />Stacking Tubes, Underground Conveyor Reclaim System, and Crushers <br />Construction of three stacking tubes and an underground conveyor reclaim system was begun <br />during 1991 and became operational in July of 1992. The approximately 100,000 to 120,000 <br />tons of run-of-mine coal storage provided by these tubes is needed to handle the higher <br />longwall production volumes. The storage area was expanded by moving a portion of the main <br />topsoil stockpile to the south, creating an additional 60,000 to 88,000 tons of coal storage area. <br />Run-of-mine coal is fed directly to these tubes. Bulldozers push the coal into the hoppers <br />feeding the underground reclaim system and into the crusher. The stacking tube facility <br />consists of three stacking tubes ranging in height from 91 to 94 feet and constructed of <br />reinforced concrete. On top of each stack tube is a transfer structure. The transfer structures <br />are approximately 38 feet tall, open steel structures. The facility also includes a 60-foot tall <br />feed conveyor drive tower and a 42-foot high crusher building. Both of these are open steel <br />structures. An as-built construction description is provided in Exhibit 68. <br />Screening Facility <br />Construction of a screening facility was begun in 1992 and became operational in February of <br />1993. The facility is used to separate over-sized material (typically consisting of rock) from the <br />product-sized coal. The screening facility consists of an open steel structure with a maximum <br />height of 84 feet and three associated conveyors. A 1,500 tons per hour high-angle conveyor <br />transfers material to the screening plant from the crusher, product-sized coal is transported to <br />the silo conveyor belt on a 1,500 tons per hour conveyor and a 300 tons per hour high-angle <br />conveyor transports over-sized material to the rotary breaker. An as-built construction <br />description is provided in Exhibit 68. <br />Coal Preparation Plant and Associated Coal Handling Facilities <br />After mining began in the E-Seam of the West Elk Mine, geologic conditions proved to be more <br />variable than anticipated. Seam thickness deviation and sandstone intrusions into the coal seam caused <br />higher than expected levels of ash in the run-of-mine coal. As a result, MCC constructed a coal <br />preparation plant and associated coal handling facilities to reduce the ash levels and increase the heat <br />content of its coal product in order to meet its current coal supply obligations on a consistent basis. <br />The Coal Preparation Plant ("the Plant) is located on the existing LRP mine bench. The Plant <br />building is steel-sided and completely encloses the washing and coal handling equipment. The <br />Plant separates the ROM coal material into salable coal products and coal refuse. The salable <br />products are blended in the plant as required to meet customer specifications. The refuse <br />material is conveyed by 550-foot long, 36-inch wide conveyor PP-4 into a 300-ton truck <br />loading bin at the RPE coal refuse area. The truck loading bin loads off-highway trucks for <br />distribution to the coal refuse pile. Conveyor P-6, a 200-foot long, 36-inch wide stacking <br />conveyor and the fines stockpile on the LRP allow for temporary storage of up to <br />2.05-43 Rev. HIM, 03106, 04106 & 05106- PRNI: 08109- TR118: 08109-TR119