_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981017 (229)

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f COLORADO INACTIVE MINE RECLAMATION PROGRAM ADVISORY COUNCIL FIELD TRIP COAL BASIN MINE; JUNE 3, 1999 History —Mining operations began at Coal Basin in the 1890's when John Osgood opened the original Coal Basin Mine in the Coal Creek drainage. Osgood had determined that the anthracite quality coal would be invaluable to his steel making operations at Pueblo, Colorado. In orderto support the small undergound operation, Osgood founded the town of Coal Basin, located near the headwaters of Coal Creek, and the village of Redstone. These two towns were connected via a narrow gauge railroad. The nine-mile long rail was used about nine months out of each year to transport men, equipment and coal between the two towns.When the coal reached Redstone, it was coked and transported via rail to Pueblo. Mining ceased in Coal Basin in about 1910, and the town of Coal Basin was abandoned. In 1956, Leighton Wood opened the Dutch Creek Number 1 Mine, located near the headwaters of Dutch Creek, about three miles south of the Coal Basin town site.The coal was transported to Carbondale for shipment to steel mills in Provo, Utah and Fontana, California. In 1962, a wash plant was constructed near the confluence of Coal and Dutch Creeks. Refuse was deposited nearby. The Dutch Creek Number 2 Mine was opened in 1965,followed by the L. S.Wood Number 3 Mine, in 1966,the Bear Creek Number 4 Mine in 1970, and the Coal Basin Number 5 Mine (at the location of the original Coal Basin Mine) in 1974. Due to mining conditions and the fluctuating market,the Number 4 and Number 5 mines were inactivated in the 1970's. Mine 3 was operated intermittently through the late 1980's, while Mines 1 and 2 operated until January, 1991. One year after ceasing operations, Mid-Continent Resources filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.A liquidation plan was approved in Federal Bankruptcy Court in 1994, with the Division of Minerals and Geology being a secured creditor in the amount of$3 million. In the intervening years, the operating permit was revoked and the reclamation bond forfeited. Minerals and Geology began reclamation operations in 1995, and will complete reclamation in 2000 or 2001. General Information —The Coal Basin Mines are a complex of five underground mines located within a high mountain valley in western Pitkin County, Colorado. The mine entries are located on the eastern facing flank of Huntsman Ridge at elevations of about 10,000 feet. Average annual precipitation is thirty three inches. Two perennial streams drain Coal Basin; Coal Creek to the north, and Dutch Creek to the south. The coal processing facilities, refuse piles and mine offices were located within the lower portions of the Basin near the confluence of Dutch and Coal Creeks at an elevation of 8,300 feet. A fifteen mile long network of haul roads connected the five mines with the mine facilities. In the mid-1980's twin, side by side rock tunnels were driven from the 8,500 feet elevation to intersect the Number 1 and 2 Mines under Huntsman Ridge. This facility was intended to eliminate the need for the haul road system. Operations —Operation of the mines posed many difficult mining and environmental problems. The coal seams dip under Huntsman Ridge at about 10 to 15 degrees, while Huntsman Ridge rises dramatically. Cover above the mines varies from 2,000 to nearly 3,000 feet. The pressures which result caused frequent floor heave and the roof falls. Rock and coal bursts were common. Faulting at depth resulted in significant mine water flows. Large quantities of methane were produced during operations, causing deadly explosions as recently as the early 1980's. Most mining was conducted using conventional room and pillar operations. However, a unique dual level advancing long wall system was used at two of the mines for a number of years.