Laserfiche WebLink
<br />iN REPLT REFER TO <br />III illlllliillll lil ? <br />999 <br />United States Department of the Interior <br />BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT <br />Colorado State Office <br />2850 Youngfield S[rect <br />LaAewood.Colorado 80215-7076 <br /> <br />CO-933 <br />3483 <br />COC 57198 <br />~lECE4VED <br />OOT 3 ~ 1997 <br />Dlvlslon of Minerals & Geology <br />Grand Valley Coal Company <br />P.O. Box 70 <br />Loma, Colorado 81524 <br />On June 30, 1997, Grand Valley Coal Company applied for a suspension of operations and <br />production on the McClane and Munger Canyon Mines logical mining unit (LMLT) <br />COC 57198, pursuant to section 39 of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MI,A), as amended, <br />and the implementing regulations at 43 CFR 3483.3. <br />LMU COC 57198 consists of 3 federal coal leases, C-0125515, C-0125516, and C-0125539, <br />and a parcel of fee land. Grand Valley has an approved mine plan which will maximize <br />economic coal recovery over the entire LMU and has made a substantial investment in the <br />form of mine development, surface facilities, permitting, and equipment. The diligent <br />development period for the leases and the LMU began on May 1, 1988. The leases were <br />inactive from 1992 to February 1997. Diligent development was met in April 1997 at the end <br />of a small contract with the Bonanza power plant. The LMU is currently inactive; the lessee <br />thus cannot afford to pay advance royalty. Grand Valley is pursuing investors to build a <br />20-mile rail spur to the mines, which would reduce the transportation costs by approximately <br />$1.40 per ton. <br />From a resource protection standpoint, the existing mine sites are the most suitable locations <br />for providing access to the recoverable reserves within the LMU. The McClane and Munger <br />Canyon Mines were developed on small benches in steep, narrow canyons with special design <br />and reclamation measures for protection of scenic and natural values of the Book Cliffs and the <br />Colorado Highway 139 visual corridor. The mine sites cannot be seen from the highway. If <br />the leases are allowed to terminate for failure to maintain continued operations and reclaimed, <br /> <br />