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