EXPLORATION ’93 — Innovative reclamation techniques are

Wetlands for waterfowl, productive crop lands, lush pastures, improved wildlife habitat, pleasing landscapes — these are legacies of surface coal mining where reclamation excellence is part of a company’s overall operation strategy.

Twelve companies that have achieved the best results were honored recently when the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining (OSM) presented its annual Excellence in Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Awards. Winning the top Director’s Award was R & F Coal Co. of Cadiz, Ohio, for innovative mining and reclamation techniques at its Hart mine near Newcomerstown, Ohio. R & F turned a difficult mining challenge into a successful, cost-effective mining and reclamation operation, crediting a new team management system for many of the ideas and efficiencies needed. The mine, 1,090 acres in size, yielded 885,000 tons of steam coal from September, 1983, until June, 1988, when mining concluded. Its unusually difficult mining conditions were due to the topography over the reserve area. The area’s steep slopes offered costly challenges in control of runoff, topsoil removal and slip prevention, according to the company’s award application.

To address these problems, the mine became one of the first areas at R & F to participate in a “team management” system. An operations team was created to maximize efficient mining methods and provide a vehicle for all R & F personnel, particularly heavy equipment operators, to contribute to the mining process.

By using ideas generated from various teams, R & F found more cost-efficient ways to recover the mine’s reserves, provide a safer work atmosphere and maintain a strong commitment to preserving the environment. One of the significant cost savings was realized in areas of exceedingly steep slopes, where R & F initiated a slip-prevention program consisting of new technology, including underdrains, reconstruction of the underlying slip plains and highwall drip panels.

Safety was another priority. About two miles of a Wheeling Twp. road were made safer by straightening and removing slip areas to widen the road and redecking a bridge surface to allow for safe coal transportation, as well as school bus and residential transportation. Another bridge was removed and replaced and other roads in the area improved.

However, it was for the extraordinary reclamation results that R & F won the coveted Director’s Award. “We feel the reclamation process on this mine was unique because of the steep terrain and slip-prone strata,” the company reported to OSM.

“The area where we initiated our slip prevention program was quite successful and has been a low maintenance area. The areas where we employed standard stripping procedures have required additional maintenance to achieve the high reclamation standards we have accomplished on this job.”

The entire mined area was graded to the approximate original contour and covered with a minimum of 8 inches of topsoil. In addition, prime farmland and cropland fields were re-established with up to 48 inches of topsoil being replaced. The area was seeded using site-specific seed mixtures, as well as trees. The test plots established in 1989 indicate a potential production average of nearly 5 tons per acre of forage on the prime farmland and cropland areas, which exceeds the average production on non-mined land in Ohio, reports R & F.

Four stream channels were reconstructed using nearly one mile of limestone riprap materials, as well as natural grass waterways. Twenty ponds were constructed to facilitate sediment control on the mining area, of which 13 were left as permanent impoundments to facilitate agricultural and wildlife use. As an added benefit, the ponds have provided significant relief from extensive flooding in and around the nearby community of Guernsey, says the company.

R & F’s efforts to provide wildlife habitat are evidenced by the constructed brushpiles, permanent ponds and 25 miles of wildlife-conducive fringe area. — From a recent issue of “Journal,” an American Mining Congress publication.