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Description of the Mine Operation Plan <br />Sizes of Permit Area, Disturbed Area, and Production Volumes <br />The permit area covers approximately 10,382 acres. During the worst case year, the total <br />cumulative disturbance will total 2,079 acres by the end of this permit term (2012). New <br />disturbance during the years 2007 through 2012 will be approximately 312 acres. Total <br />cumulative coal production over the life of Trapper mine is projected to be a maximum of 74 <br />million tons. <br />Mining Method <br />Coal is mined at the Trapper Mine using surface mining methods. Draglines are used to remove <br />overburden and interburden, while front-end loaders and haul trucks are used to remove the coal <br />seams. Trapper Mining, Inc. has historically oriented the pits north-south, parallel to the <br />downhill dip of the coal seams. PR-05 reoriented pits G, F and Z (East F-Pit) parallel with the <br />strike of the coal seams in an east-west direction. Strike line pits will progress from north to <br />south. Each successive pit cut is next to and parallel to the previous cut. When more than one <br />seam is recovered in a pit, partings are removed by dozer, or backhoe, or similar equipment if <br />thin; or by dragline, if thick. <br />The October 2006 landslide in the East Panel of Trapper Mine created a need for a change in <br />mining methods for the East Panel area, resulting in Permit Revision PR-06. The K-Pit and L-Pit <br />(originally identified as G-Pit) were originally planned as dragline pits, consistent with Trapper's <br />historical mining method. Trapper conducted a geotechnical/mine planning study and concluded <br />that dragline mining will not be a viable mining method for the K-Pit due to the relatively steep <br />dip of the coal seams and overburden. Trapper proposes to mine the K-Pit as a truck/loader <br />operation. Trapper selected this method based on safety considerations and potential for <br />recovering coal that would otherwise have been lost. Trapper believes the truck/loader mining <br />method will result in a reclaimed landform that meets the requirements of approximate original <br />contour, and provides for long-term stability of the area. <br />Strip Pits <br />Trapper will mine coal from the following four pits during the 2007-2012 permit term: East F <br />(Z), F (Flintlock), Ashmore East Pit, and Kimber (K) Pit. Pits advance generally southward. <br />Individual cuts in pits are as much as 6,000 ft. long. The maximum width of a cut is 200 feet. In <br />2002, D-Pit progressed to the point that it merged with E-Pit. This combination D/E-Pit is <br />approved for ash disposal. A (Ashmore) pit remains open for ash disposal (see description of ash <br />disposal below). <br />Through the approval of Permit Revision PR-06, the K-Pit is divided into two main blocks: a <br />dragline block and a truck/loader block. The dragline block is one pass wide, along the ridge <br />top. This block generally runs west to east. The truck/loader block is further divided into three <br />main blocks (A, B, and C), with each block further divided into cuts with an average width of <br />105 feet for truck and loader benches. Mining in the truck/loader block will begin in Block B, <br />Trapper Mine 15 September 21, 2009