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West Elk Mine <br />2.05.3 Operation Plan - Permit Area <br />(1) Production Methods and Equipment <br />The production methods and equipment in use at West Elk Mine are described above in <br />Section 2.05.2. <br />(2) Operation Description <br />MCC plans to mine two coal seams; the B and E Seams. Longwall mining operations will <br />continue in the B Seam during the current permit term. Longwall development in the E Seam <br />was be initiated in late 2004, with longwall mining of the E Seam projected to begin in 2008. <br />F Seam <br />After mining operations in the B Seam were fully operational, MCC discontinued mining in the <br />F- Seam. Map 50 shows where MCC has mined in the F Seam to date. MCC currently has no <br />plans for further mining of the F Seam. <br />E Seam <br />Mining plans for the E Seam are presented on Map 51. Development mining began in 2004. A <br />description of E-Seam mining plans is presented in Exhibit 60 B and Section 2.05.6(6)(e)(i), Subsidence <br />Prediction, 2.05.6(6)(e)(i)(A) Brief Description of Mining Method, South of Divide Mining Area. <br />MCC may transport coal to other coal operations for processing or to make-up trains for other coal <br />operations. If processing requires washing, the resulting refuse will be returned to MCC for disposal. The <br />current projected range of transport is 25 to 500,000 tons raw coal annually. The current projected range <br />of transport for returned refuse is 0 to 200,000 tons annually. <br />R Roam <br />Mining of the B Seam will continue during the current permit term. Map 52 shows Mountain <br />Coal Company's plans for mining the B Seam within the permit area. The map includes the <br />Federal Leases and Fee leases to be mined. <br />Manpower Requirements <br />Existing and projected manpower requirements are shown in Table 32 for the permit term. <br />Projected manpower requirements are based on projected production levels to fulfill existing and <br />anticipated contracted coal sales. These projected requirements are subject to change for various <br />reasons. New contracts may require revisions to the figures. <br />(3) Mine Facilities <br />2.05-15 Revised June 2005 PRIO; Rev. January 2006; Rev. March 2006; Rev. April 2006 PR10, May 2006 PRIO; Rev. January 2009 MR-350