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®► <br /> IL <br /> -8- <br /> The present mines or entries, froin north to south, are: <br /> Coal Basin (No. 5) Mine <br /> L.S. Wood (NO. 3) Mine <br /> Dutch Creek (No. 2) Mine <br /> Dutch Creek (No. 1 ) Mine <br /> Bear Creek (No. 4) Mine <br /> Coal is produced from two seams: the Coal Basin Seam, or "B" bed, in <br /> which the Coal Basin (No. 5), L.S. Wood (NO. 3) , Dutch Creek (No. 1 ) , and <br /> Bear Creek (No. 4) mines are located; and the Dutch Creek Seam, or <br /> "Middle" bed, which lies stratigraphically 450 feet above the "B" bed, <br /> and in which the.0utch Creek (No. 2) mine is located. <br /> Room and pillar and longwall mining techniques are to be used in <br /> recovering the mineable coal reserves within the permit area. The amount <br /> of coal that Mid-Continent plans to produce is estimated to be from <br /> 800,000 to 1 ,300,000 tons per year depending upon the market situation. <br /> The total potential tonnage that could be extracted yearly is 2,450,000 <br /> tons per year. <br /> The run-of-mine coal is transported from the mine portal bins to the <br /> preparation plant in off-highway diesel powered trucks. Each of the <br /> mines is located approximately 4 miles from the preparation plant. At <br /> the preparation plant, rock and refuse materials are removed from the <br /> coal by gravity separation methods and froth flotation. After cleaning, <br /> the coal is thermally dried and placed in clean coal storage bins from <br /> whence it is transported approximately 22 miles to the unit train loadout <br /> station at Carbondale by semi-trucks. Rock and refuse materials removed <br /> from the coal at the preparation plant are placed in refuse piles <br /> situated in Coal Basin near the preparation plant and below Mine No. 4. <br /> The projected life of the mine is 40 years. Reclamation will proceed <br /> following the completion of mining operations. The disturbed areas will <br /> be graded, topsoiled where sufficient material is available, and seeded <br /> with predominantly native species. Vegetation characteristics will be <br /> monitored until the post-mining conditions are approximately equal to <br /> adjacent areas of comparable vegetation. The final reclaimed surface <br /> will blend in with the surrounding undisturbed areas. <br />