Coal mine looks to grow

News

Coal mine looks to grow

Small operation must address issues first
Edward Pachot operates a roof bolter in the King II Mine. Before crews advance further through a coal seam, the machine secures roof bolts and metal fencing to prevent entries from caving in. Employees must drive more than a mile underground to get to the area where the company is actively mining. Some spend 13 hours per day working in the underground tunnels.
The coal travels more than 5,000 feet on conveyor belts from the point where it is mined to the beds of outgoing coal trucks. Surface supervisor Wayne Wymore explains the process used to sort, test and load coal once it emerges from the mine.
JOSH STEPHENSON/Durango Herald

The date July 25, 2007, is displayed on the entrance of the King II Mine, commemorating its first day of official operation.
Sal Sheppard operates a shuttle car that transports coal from a machine called the Continuous Miner to a feeder breaker that grinds the coal into smaller chunks and sends it on a conveyor belt more than a mile to the surface.
Cena Bennallie works as a dispatcher at the King II Mine, tracking miners with a system of cellphones and loading trucks.
Underground mechanic Ben Archuleta replaces the pneumatic and electrical systems on a mobile roof support. The hydraulics on the machine can hold 600 tons of weight and are used to support against caving in when miners work to recover pillars of coal previously left in place to provide support in the mine.

Coal mine looks to grow

Edward Pachot operates a roof bolter in the King II Mine. Before crews advance further through a coal seam, the machine secures roof bolts and metal fencing to prevent entries from caving in. Employees must drive more than a mile underground to get to the area where the company is actively mining. Some spend 13 hours per day working in the underground tunnels.
The coal travels more than 5,000 feet on conveyor belts from the point where it is mined to the beds of outgoing coal trucks. Surface supervisor Wayne Wymore explains the process used to sort, test and load coal once it emerges from the mine.
JOSH STEPHENSON/Durango Herald

The date July 25, 2007, is displayed on the entrance of the King II Mine, commemorating its first day of official operation.
Sal Sheppard operates a shuttle car that transports coal from a machine called the Continuous Miner to a feeder breaker that grinds the coal into smaller chunks and sends it on a conveyor belt more than a mile to the surface.
Cena Bennallie works as a dispatcher at the King II Mine, tracking miners with a system of cellphones and loading trucks.
Underground mechanic Ben Archuleta replaces the pneumatic and electrical systems on a mobile roof support. The hydraulics on the machine can hold 600 tons of weight and are used to support against caving in when miners work to recover pillars of coal previously left in place to provide support in the mine.