2012-04-23_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981013

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SECTION I – HISTORY The Golden Eagle Mine is located in Las Animas County, Colorado approximately 23 miles west of Trinidad along State Highway 12. The permit covers 1.20 acres of which 1.20 acres are disturbed. The Golden Eagle mine began operations under the name of the Maxwell Mine, originally permitted and operated by Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation (CF&I). In January of 1984, Wyoming Fuels, a KN Energy subsidiary, purchased the mine. In March of 1993, the permittee and operator changed to Basin Resources, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Entech, Inc., and a subsidiary of Montana Power Company. Mining operations ceased in December 1995 and all facilities were removed, backfilling and grading was completed, and the disturbed areas were topsoiled, seeded and mulched in 1996. In July 2001, the parent company ownership of BRI changed from Entech (Montana Power) to Colorado Westmoreland, Inc. In March 2008, the permit was transferred from Colorado Westmoreland to New Elk Coal Company, LLC. Mine-related activities continue o be solely focused on reclamation, bond release, monitoring, and maintenance. During operation, the majority of the mine facilities were located immediately south of State Highway 12 and the Purgatoire River, near the mouth of Ciruela Canyon. Two ventilation shafts, mine buildings, water tanks, portal, coal stockpiles, conveyors, and a coal truck loadout were located in this area. A mine development waste pile was also constructed at the mouth of Ciruela Canyon, immediately south of the railroad right-of-way that crosses the permit area. Two other ventilation shafts were located at remote areas away from the main facility. During active mining operations, the mine utilized both continuous miners and a 600-foot wide longwall to extract coal from the Maxwell seam. No longwall mining occurred under State Highway 12 or under the adjacent Purgatoire River alluvial valley floor. However, development mining did occur in this area to allow access to reserves to the north of the highway. Two complete longwall panels and a portion of a third panel were mined north of the highway. Thirty-one mine drill holes and shafts that penetrated the mine workings were converted to an industrial land use to allow for methane gas extraction from the workings. The mine site is located in a plateau area, with elevations ranging from 7,000 - 7,600 feet above mean sea level. Land use in the area consists of cropland and pastureland on valley floors, with rangeland dominating the upland areas. The recent development of ranchettes and coal bed methane extraction has become an extended use of these traditionally remote areas. The Golden Eagle Mine is located on the western limb of the Raton Basin. The Raton Basin is a broad, asymmetric syncline, the axis of which trends generally north-south. The extraction of coal by the Golden Eagle Mine occurred in the Maxwell Seam, located in the Raton Formation. The Poison Canyon formation overlies the Raton Formation and has a thickness of approximately 200 feet in the mine area. Unconsolidated Quaternary alluvial and colluvial deposits overlie the Raton Formation in the low-lying areas. The Raton Formation dips approximately two degrees east-northeast. The permit area contains one steep, normal fault trending east-northeast with vertical displacement of 25 feet. Golden Eagle Mine -3- 4/4/2012