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Portions of Rio Blanco County Road 73 and 65 (which becomes Moffat County Road 61), the <br />Deserado Mine overland conveyor, coal storage, train load -out, rail line, haul road, and refuse <br />disposal area would be within the LBA and are authorized through federal land use authorization <br />rights of way (ROW). <br />Additional new surface disturbances for facilities would be needed to support mining within the <br />LBA. Such sites would typically be related to the surface drilling of holes for exploration, gob <br />degas, nitrogen injection, and mine ventilation shafts. Each exploration, nitrogen, and degas hole <br />location site would be sized to allow sufficient space for all necessary drilling equipment and is <br />typically less than 100 feet by 150 feet (0.34 acres) in size and locations for air ventilation shafts <br />are 150 feet by 150 feet (0.52 acres). Road width is typically 12 feet for exploration, degas, and <br />nitrogen holes and 15 feet for ventilation shafts. BME would utilize existing roads and two tracks <br />as much as practical with new access roads averaging less than 1,000 feet (0.34 acres for <br />ventilation shafts and 0.28 acres for exploration, nitrogen, and gob degas holes). BME's mine <br />ventilation plan approved by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) requires a <br />maximum 3,000 foot spacing of degas and nitrogen injection wells. Based on projected coal <br />development within the proposed lease, 30 degas holes, 30 nitrogen injection holes, 15 <br />exploration holes, and 10 ventilation shafts would be necessary for coal recovery. This could <br />involve up to a total of approximately 56 acres of new disturbance (9 acres for ventilation shafts, <br />10 acres for exploration holes, and 37 acres for degas and nitrogen) on the proposed lease. <br />Construction of approximately 4 to 15 of a combination of support facilities could occur with an <br />annual disturbance of approximately 2 to 9 acres. Drilling and construction activity is typically <br />scheduled during fall and lasts two to three days for each exploration, gob degas and nitrogen <br />hole. Four to six weeks of construction activities could be needed for the construction of <br />ventilation shafts. All site disturbances including new access roads developed for facilities would <br />be reclaimed when no longer required for mining activities. Degas, ventilation shafts, and <br />nitrogen holes typically remain operational for one to three years and at the end of their <br />operational life are reclaimed. Exploration holes are plugged and reclaimed the same year they <br />are drilled. <br />Based on current projected coal demands for the Bonanza Power Plant, and if BME is the <br />successful bidder on this LBA, development entries would proceed into the LBA in 2013 with <br />longwall mining commencing in late 2013. Mining operations would continue at the current <br />production rate of approximately 2 million tons of deliverable coal per year. The Deserado Mine <br />currently has approximately eight to nine years of recoverable coal reserves in existing leases. <br />Logical progression in the mining sequence would require the development and mining from <br />existing leases into and through the LBA (see Figures land 2). This is due to the geologic <br />restrictions that determine the orientation of longwall panels in relation to the configuration of <br />LBA and coal lease boundaries. The LBA has an estimated 21.3 ton of deliverable coal and if <br />BME is the successful bidder the coal reserves from the LBA would be developed through 2032. <br />If BME is the successful bidder on this LBA, development of the coal resources in the LBA will <br />likely occur in a similar manner as the current Federal coal resource recovery in the adjacent <br />leases under the provision of the approved Deserado Mine Mining Permit (C- 1981 -018). <br />DOI- BLM -CO- 110 - 2012 - 0023 -EA 7 <br />