Western Bituminous
Castle Valley Mining Complex:
In August 2010, we completed the acquisition of certain mining assets of C.W. Mining Company. The assets acquired are located in Emery and Carbon Counties, Utah and include coal reserves and non-reserve coal deposits, underground mining equipment and infrastructure, an overland belt conveyor system, a loading facility and support facilities. In January 2011, we began production at one underground mine at this complex.
McClane Canyon Mining Complex:
The McClane Canyon mine is located near Loma, Colorado and is on property leased from Bureau of Land Management. As of December 31, 2011, the McClane Canyon complex included an estimated 6.5 million tons of proven and probable coal reserves and an estimated 26.2 million tons of non-reserve coal deposits. We have temporarily idled production at McClane Canyon. We have received a conditional permit to build a rail loadout at this location and plan to restart production when market conditions are favorable.In addition to the McClane Canyon mine, we currently control three nearby federal leases consisting of approximately 7,600 acres, two of which have the potential to support a future underground coal mining operation with procurement of an adjacent federal leasehold. We began the permitting process and leasehold procurement in 2005 and expect the process to last approximately one to three more years. We are currently in an exploration process to define the volume, quality and mineability of the coal reserves.