Coal Hollow Mine
{{#badges:CoalSwarm}}Coal Hollow Mine is a proposed coal mine in Kane County, Utah, approximately three miles south of the town of Alton. Alton Coal Development, LLC proposes to surface mine about 2,000,000 tons of fee coal annually for approximately three years.[1] The permit was approved by the State of Utah on November 11, 2009.[2]
Contents
Proposal
The mine would operate 6 days per week, 24 hours per day. Coal would be transported from the loadout via 43-ton coal trucks. Trucks would travel from Alton to Highway 89, north to US 20, east to I-15, south on I-15 to Cedar City and from Cedar City west 10 miles to a proposed rail loadout. Approximately 190 truck trips per day, 5 days per week would be required to handle the 2,000,000 tons of annual coal production.[1]
Approval
In November 2009 the State of Utah, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, under Director John Baza, released an application approval with conditions for Alton Coal Development to mine 2,000,000 tons of coal per year for approximately three years from the Coal Hollow Mine. The state approval is separate from any applications to mine on public lands nearby, which is going through a separate federal approval process.[2]
The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining says Alton Coal will get an operating permit as soon as it posts a $6 million reclamation bond, and that the Coal Hollow Mine will exhaust the private reserves in three to five years, when the company hopes to mine adjacent federal lands.[3]
Community Opposition
Residents of southern Utah have expressed opposition to the project due to the constant traffic (up to 153 round trips a day) and accompanying congestion and pollution that would result, posing a risk to local businesses and public health. In addition residents are concerned about the environmental and health effects of strip mining, including water pollution from chemically treating coal, deforestation, and risks from coal waste and slurry dams.[4]
Mine Data
- Owner: Alton Coal Development
- Parent company: Alton Coal Development
- Location: Alton, Utah
- GPS coordinates:
- Production: 2,000,000 tons
- Type of coal: Fee coal
- Mine type: Surface
- Equipment: Strip Mining
- Number of employees: 160 (proposed)
Articles and resources
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References
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 "Coal Hollow" Utah.gov, accessed November 2009
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 Dixie Brunner,"Alton Coal leaps hurdle in getting state approval" Southern Utah News, November 11, 2009
- ↑ "Utah regulators approve new coal mine" AP story on Charleston Daily Mail, October 27, 2009
- ↑ "FAQs" Alton Coal Mine Public Website, accessed November 2009
