_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - C1981017 (283)

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-50- Two general types of underground mining methods are utilized to produce coal at Coal 'Basin. They are the room and pillar and the lonywall methods. All coal is transported from the mining section to the surface via belt conveyors and placed in temporary storage bins of up to 1 ,000 tons capacity near the mine portals. Hen and materials are transported into and out of the mines via slope hoists and/or self-propelled mantrip vehicles. Each mine is ventilated with a separate split of air. Roof control is accomplished principally with roof bolts; however, other means, including posts, cribs and arches, are used. In pillar sections and longwall panels, the roof is allowed to cave after mining. The run-of-mine coal is transported from the mine portal bins to the preparation plant in off-highway diesel powered trucks. Each of the mines is located approximately 4 miles from the preparation plant. At the preparation plant, rock and refuse materials are removed from the coal by gravity separation methods and froth flotation. After cleaning, the coal is thermally dried and placed in clean coal storage bins. From there, it is transported approximately 22 miles to the unit train loadout station at Carbondale by semi-trucks. Rock and refuse materials remove from the coal at the preparation plant is presently placed in the refuse pile situated in Coal Basin near the preparation plant. Coal refuse will be disposed of in a small canyon approximately 1 1/2 miles southwest of the preparations plant following base preparations in the summer of 1983. Mid-Continent plans to mine between 800,000 and 1 ,300,000 tons of coal per year from its Coal Basin Mines for the next 40 years. It is estimated :ghat there are at least 40,000,000 tons of recoverable coal in the two minable seams within the Federal coal leases and privately owned lands availaple to the company in the mine plan area. Mining operations will be conducted in the two commerically minable coal seams of the Mesaverde Group located in Coal Basin. These seams are the Coal Basin seam, or "B" bed, and the Outch Creek seam, or "Middle" bed. The "Middle" bed overlies the "B" bed stratigraphically by about 450 feet. There are no other known commercially minable coal seams in Coal Basin. The coal seams outcrop along the sides of the Basin at elevations ranging from approximately 9,500 feet to 10,700 feet. Both coal seams are believed to be continuous, except for some faulting, within the mine plan area. Because of intense faulting, thickness of the coal beds, igneous intrusives and the extreme depth of cover, portions of the coal resources within the mine plan are are not commercially minable at this time. The "B" bed overlies another coal seam, known as the "A" seam, that is not commercially minable because of its thinness and close proximity to the "3" bed. Consequently, it is not considered to be part of the minable coal reserve. The proposed operation is in compliance with the requirements of this section. XV. Explosives - Rules 2.05.3(6) and 4.08 ,No surface blasting is anticipateo at this operation. The requirements of :his section oo not apply. Therefore, the proposed operation is in compliance with this section.