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The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Royal Gorge Field Office (RGFO) is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed coal lease on split-estate lands. New Elk Coal Company, LLC (NECC) has applied to the BLM for a 1,279-acre coal lease by application (LBA) COC71978 for lands adjacent to their existing New Elk Coal Mine. The geographic area considered for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis for this EA is located in Las Animas County. The lease tracts are located to the west of Weston, Colorado. The proposed LBA is for the Blue and Maxwell coal seams.
The proposed lease tracts are located approximately 26 miles west of Trinidad, Colorado, to the north of Colorado Highway 12 and the Purgatoire River. The proposed lease tracts contain federal coal only. All other minerals directly adjacent to the lease areas, including oil and gas within the lease areas are privately owned. The land surface above the federal coal and directly adjacent are privately owned by a number of individuals.
There is no planned surface disturbance in the proposed area.
If the BLM decides to lease the coal, it would then be offered by competitive sale. If the coal lease is issued to NECC, the lease acreage would be added to the existing permit for the New Elk Mine (C1981012). The New Elk Mine is an underground room and pillar coal mine, operated without retreat mining methods. The lease application area contains an estimated 15 million tons of coal in place. Approximately 11 million tons are estimated to be recoverable. Of the 73 million tons of coal currently planned to be mined at the New Elk Mine, it is estimated that these 11 million additional tons of federal coal would extend the projected 30-year lifespan of the mine by 5 years. |
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Historically, portions of the proposed lease have been leased by Colorado Fuel & Iron (CF&I) and Basin Resources, the previous owners of the Golden Eagle and New Elk Coal mines (formerly the Allen Mine). The leases were relinquished upon closure of the New Elk mine in 1996.
The Allen (New Elk) Mine was originally opened in 1951 by CF&I to produce metallurgical coal for its steel works in Pueblo, Colorado. In 1981, the mine was sold to Wyoming Fuel Company. They installed a processing plant used to wash coal. After the New Elk Mine was closed in 1984, the plant was operated to wash coal from the Golden Eagle Mine and later to process coal from the Lorencito Canyon Mine. The New Elk Mine began mining the Maxwell and Blue coal seams in 2009 which was suspended in 2014. No mining is currently being conducted, however, the permits remain in active status, so mining can begin when contracts are signed with potential customers. |
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Legal land description
| Parcel |
Sixth PM
Township, Range, Section |
Lot or Aliquot Part |
Acres |
| I |
T33S, R67W Sec 18 |
Lots 2 thru 4 |
107.66 |
| E1/2SW1/4 |
80.00 |
| T33S, R67W Sec 19 |
Lot 1 |
36.22 |
| NW1/4NE1/4, NE1/4NW1/4 |
80.00 |
| T33S, R68W Sec 13 |
S1/2NE1/4, N1/2SE1/4, SE1/4SE1/4 |
200.00 |
| II |
T33S, R67W Sec 6 |
Lots 2 thru 7 |
219.94 |
| E1/2SW1/4 |
80.00 |
| T33S, R67W Sec 7 |
Lot 2 |
35.09 |
| T33S, R68W Sec 1 |
Lots 1 & 2 |
80.72 |
| S1/2NE1/4, E1/2SE1/4 |
160.00 |
| T33S, R68W Sec 12 |
E1/2NE1/4 |
80.00 |
| III |
T33S, R67W Sec 17 |
E1/2NE1/4, NE1/4SE1/4 |
120.00 |
| Total Lease Application Acres |
1,279.63 |
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