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SSE Doc Date:12/11/2001 III IIIIIIIIIIIII III sss ~( Rule 2.04.6 (1) Ca) Geoloav Descrl~tion-Surface Minina ~~ The perait area lies within the Raton Basin, an asymmetrical structure, with a steep to overturned western limb and a gentle eastern limb. More specifically, the proposed mineslte is centrally located along the eastern edge of the basin approximately one mile southeast of Trinidad, Colorado. The stratigraphy of the mineslte and adjacent area consists of Cretaceous Age sedimentary units, from oldest to youngest, of the Trinidad Sandstone, Vermejo Formation and Raton Formation. Statigraphy Trinidad Sandstone The Trinidad Sandstone is a formation easily recognizable in both outcrop and drill holes. It is characterized by relatively clean, fine to very fine grained sandstone that is commonly friable in nature. Although often in excess of one hundred feet thick, its contact with the underlying Pierre Shale is rarely penetrated in coal exploration drill holes due to the lack of coal. The outcrop of the Trinidad Sandstone, north and topographically lower in relation to the Rimrock permit area, is shown on Exhlblt X. Vermejo Formation • The Vermejo Formation contains commercially viable coal seams including the target Engleville Seam. The Engleville Seam, which is found split as the Upper and Lower Starkville Seams of the nearby Animas and Helen Mines, lies near the stratigraphic center of the formation. Apart from coal, the Vermejo Formation is characterized by alternating beds of shale, siltstone and sandstone. These clastic units were the product of deltaic sedimentation and are often highly lenticular. Consequently, the extent, thickness and quality of the associated coals were controlled by and reflect the sedimentation of these clastic units. The lowermost coals penetrated Sn Rimrock's drill hole 29-4, Appendiz 1, llthologlc logs and Appendix 2, geophysical logs, comprise up to four splits of the named Lower Piedmont Seam. These seams are thin and lenttcular, Exhibits FF and GG, and too far below the Engleville Seam to be economically viable under present market conditions. Directly beneath the Engleville Seam (Hole 29-4: 58-68') is a coal bench, locally termed the Lower Engleville bench, that may cotncide with the named Piedmont Seam. In the permit area It appears to be lenticular, Exhibits FF and GG. Its minimal separation from the Engleville Seam, two feet, and its thickness, two feet (based on hole 29-4) warrant consideration as a minable unit. However, the sulfur content of the interval 68-72 feet, Appendix 3, is 2.02k compared to the Engleville Seams 0.56k and 1.26k sulfur values. Although the data are tnsufflcient for a -1-