Developer Eyeing Alton Coal Field

None by KCPW

(KCPW News 12/13//2006) According to a reinventory by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS), a coal field 40 miles north of Kanab has the potential to power Utah for another 50 years. UGS geologist Roger Bon says developer interest is growing:

"Coal prices are increasingly getting higher these days, so it looks like the market might be getting right for new mine development."

Privately-owned Alton Coal Development is interested in the area, which the UGS says contains about 2.91 billion tons of coal. However, only 1.25 billion tons are recoverable because some of the area is federally protected. Due to the permitting process and public auction of federal mining leases, Bon says getting the coal out of the ground won't happen any time soon:

"That's probably two to three years down the road, and then following that, whoever is successful, has to put together a mine plan, and then there's additional studies for that, and then the state looks at all of that data, and then at some point in time we'll issue a mining permit, and then folks get into operation. So we're probably looking seven to 10 years down the road."

Bon says the Bureau of Land Management will soon start an environmental impact study on the proposed mine area, which is known as the Alton Coal Field. To hear more from Bon, check out today's Midday Metro podcast.

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