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New Elk Mine <br />QUARTERLY COAL WASTE BANK INSPECTION REPORT <br />CDMR Rules 4.09.1 (11) and 4.10.2(2) <br />Mine: NEW ELK <br />Waste Bank MSHA ID. No.: Primary Refuse Disposal Area (RDA) <br />Inspection Period: First Quarter 2013 <br />Inspection Date: 3/29/2013 <br />General Description or Reference to Site Plan: <br />The Primary Refuse Disposal Area is located north of State Highway 12 and the Middle Fork <br />of the Purgatoire river. Refuse is transported by conveyor belt to the RDA from the coal <br />preparation plant located south of the river. The plant operated intermittantly during 2012 <br />with temporary cessation of operations announced effective July 11, 2012. The mine <br />remains in temporary cessation with only routine maintenance conducted on the RDA. <br />Activity During Inspection: <br />With both the Bates and Allen mines in tempory cessation, the plant did not operate during <br />the first quarter with no refuse transported to the RDA. <br />Drainage: (Discussion of springs. seeps, overland and channel flow, underdrain construction and/ <br />or discharge, integrity of 100 -year 24 -hour drainage structures, and evidence of positive drainage). <br />No springs or seeps were observed on the refuse side slopes. Winter conditions prevailed <br />throughout the area. <br />The East upland perimeter fresh water diversion ditch has been regraded to insure positive <br />drainage. The culverts C -75 and C -76 along the ditch have been removed. <br />A damaged section of Culvert 41 on the RDA has been removed and remains to be reinstalled. <br />The culvert remaining in -place is functional until the additional section can be set. <br />Observation of Fill Construction: (Description of material, compaction, lift thicknesses, slopes, <br />and construction methods). <br />Refuse is placed in 1 -2 foot lifts, allowed to dry and then compacted. Periodically CTL- <br />Thompson, a geotechnical engineering firm, evaluates refuse compaction. The permit <br />requires and testing has demonstrated that the operation have achieved in excess of the <br />required 90% compaction. <br />Indications of Potential Failure or Instability: <br />None observed. <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />