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~.~ r ./.. rn .. I a iii iiiiiiiiiiiuiu 999 To the North Fork Valley Community: "Thank you," again and again, is what we've Found ourselves saying during the past few months. We are truly thankful that we live and mine coal in the midst of this wonder- ful valley and community. Your continued concern and assistance have helped to sus- tain our spirits through these months of waiting and worrying about the Sanborn Creek Mine and its employees -perhaps a family member, a friend or a neighbor - following the January mine fire. What's Been Done Since the mine was sealed in late January, Oxbow, working with the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), completed drilling a borehole from the mountainside down into the mine. Enough water was pumped into the mine to cover the area of the mine fire. Six other bore- holes were drilled into the mine as required by MSHA, to sample and monitor the mine's gases. These gas samples provided the necessary information to MSHA that eventually led to their decision to approve Oxbow's re-entry plans. Back in the Mine On Saturday, May 8th, Oxbow was autho- rized by MSHA to open the Sanborn Creek Mine portals and start the fan, blowing fresh air into the mine. The following Thursday, May 13th, Oxbow's miners who had under- gone specialized mine rescue training dur- ing the past few months, re-entered the mine. These crews carefully made their way to the longwall equipment and proudly reported that it appeared to be in good shape. Since then the main fan near the east end of our property was re-energized and more normal exhaust ventilation of the mine restored. Oxbow's crews continue to explore and document the effects of the January mine fire. Back to Work More than a month and a half after the mine was sealed, Oxbow made the difficult deci- sion to furlough 100 employees. About 75 others continued on at Oxbow, completing the training, planning, drilling, monitoring and other work required by MSHA and nec- essary to reopen the mine. As of Monday, May 24th, all Oxbow employees were called back to work. The recovery and repair work on the mine's ventilation, roof sup- port, communication and monitoring sys- tems will continue, so that normal coal min- ing operations can be restored as soon as possible. Mining Coal Again Recovery of the Sanborn Creek Mine contin- ueswith MSHA close at hand. Oxbow plans to begin continuous miner production again in July, with longwall production resuming early this fall. From then on, our mining operations should be back to normal. Part of a normal coal mining operation these days is land restoration and reclamation. So along with mining, Oxbow will continue work to reclaim the land disturbance creat- ed during the mine fire emergency. Water that was pumped into the mine was ana- lyzed and has met the water quality stan- dards required by the state Water Quality Control Division. After obtaining state approvals, Oxbow has begun pumping water from the mine back to the river. Oxbow remains committed to the contin- ued safe recovery of the Sanborn Creek Mine, and the resumption of active mining operations as soon u possible. We deeply appreciate the assistance and understand- ing that you have shown to us throughout this endeavor. With Many Thanks, OXBOW MINING. INC. P.O. Box 535 3737 Highway 133 Somerset, Colorado 81434 USA TEL (970) 929-5122 FAX (970) 929-5177 .. + "'""`""""' `Progress Reports Vol. t, No. 2 June 7,7999