2011-02-14_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981012

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F e irst coal production By SITYRI EY DONACHY 5peclal to 77ae Chronicle -News "Coal production by the end of February is an excellent probabil- ity," New Elk Mine Manager Ron Thompson told Rotary members at last Thursday's luncheom Six years in the planning and development stage, the vision of Cline Coal Company to reopen the mine in Las Animas County is a reality. "Economically, it now is feasi- ble to mine the coal Metallurgic grade coal that we have in this area is selling for $200 to $300 per ton in countries such as China, India and Brazil that are develop- ing their steel industry," Thompson said. "This is a sub- stantial increase from the previ- ous market price of $25 to $60 per ton. Mining coal is an expensive operation, so the new markets make itprofitable to produce." Rehabilitation work on the ,slopes and outside structures was the first priority, according to Thompson. Production plans needed to be submitted and approved by the state prior to mining coal underground. Nine of the 10 plans are approved and the final approval is forthcoming. The company should be producing coal within the next three weeks. One million tons of extracted coal is expected by the end of this year, and coal production projection for next year is three million tons, Thompson said. at mine expected From left are Rotary President Pro Tern Richard "Buzz" Sawaya, guest speaker Ron Thompson, Mine Manager at New Elk Mine, and Rotary Program Chairman Jessie Manzanares. The New Elk Mine oversees the operation and contracted with a mining company that employs the production workers. There are currently 90 employees between the New Elk Mine and the con. tract company. The majority of workers are from this area. End of the year labor projections are 150. Full production will require a labor force of more than 300 by the end of 2012, according to Thompson. Presently, coal will be trucked from the mine site to Jansen for rail shipping. Robinson Trucking, a Las Animas County business, Continued on page 2 Ent coal production at New Elk mule expected soon Continued from page 1 came in as the low bidder and was awarded the con- tract. "Each truck will be equipped with a GPS so that we can monitor them at all times. Highway 12 has a lot of curves and a school zone trucking the coal safely is extremely important," said Thompson. Engineering plans are being developed to again lay rail lines to the mine in 2012 at an estimat- ed cost of $18 million. Shipping to overseas markets will require reducing the coal to 8 per- cent ash. It will then be transported by rail to a seaport such as Corpus Christi, Texas. Ocean car- riers will deliver to the buyer "We plan on being around for awhile," Thompson added. "Studies - indicate there is 310 mil- lion tons of coal, 50 per- cent of that is recoverable. Estimating the market need and production level, we anticipate at least 20 years of production."