Name of the Project
New Elk coal startup project.

Location
Las Animas County, in south-east Colorado bordering north-east New Mexico, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Alliance Coal.

Project Description
New Elk has proven reserves of 35.2-million tonnes and probable reserves of 9.9-million tonnes for 45.1-million tonnes of saleable coal.

The startup mine plan envisages a 1.2-million-tonne-a-year run-of-mine operation over a 24.3-year mine life.

The mine plan has focused on the shallow Blue seam, which is already established with portal entries and main headings, and the very shallow Green seam that is used as an access road to the point at which a new decline can be established into the southern area of the Blue seam. Coal will be mined using continuous miners adopting the place change room-and-pillar method.

Mining will start in the Blue seam where the portal entries – belt road, ventilation, and men and materials – are already established and the main headings have already been advanced to 150 m underground. One super section will be established in the Blue seam at the start, with the second starting six months thereafter.

The primary purpose of mining the Green seam is to drive headings in coal southwards to reach a point where a decline can be established into the southern portion of the Blue seam. A consequence of the 4 ft coal seam height cutoff is that the Blue seam areas are not contiguous, separated by areas of coal less than 4 ft high.

Blue seam to be significantly extended.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax and pre-interest net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of A$566-million and an internal rate of return of 573%.

Capital Expenditure
Total startup capacity, excluding contingency, is estimated at A$17.7-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Production is planned to start in June 2021, with the first production unit producing 40 000 t/m from the Blue seam. This will increase in December 2021 with the start of the second production unit to 73 300 t a month, with annualised production averaging 1.6-million tonnes for the life-of-mine.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Alliance Coal, tel +61 2 9233 5579, fax +61 2 9233 1349 or email info@allegiancecoal.com.au.