Overview

Mine Type	Underground
Status	Inactive / Suspended
Commodities	Coal (thermal)
Mining Method	Room-and-pillar Continuous
Production Start	...
Mine Life	...
Snapshot	The Buck Creek Complex includes Poplar Grove Mine and the permitted Cypress Mine . In February 2021, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky confirmed Hartshorne’s plan of liquidation. In February 2021, the plan of liquidation became effective, and Hartshorne commenced the final stages of winding up the estates. Hartshorne executed a liquidation trust agreement and transferred its remaining assets and liabilities to a liquidation trust, as well as assigning remaining critical contracts and insurance policies. Hartshorne funded the carve-out escrow with the majority of Hartshorne’s cash-on-hand and transferred any remaining cash to the liquidation trust. The Hartshorne entities were dissolved on the effective date. The remaining assets will be liquidated by the trustee over time. There were no mining production activities during the March 2021 quarter.

Deposit type

• Sedimentary

Summary:

The Coal Resource Estimate (CRE) is located in Hopkins and McLean County, Kentucky, within the Carbondale Formation. The WK No.9 and WK No, 11 Seams associated with the Buck Creek Complex have been identified as exhibiting potential underground mineable resource tonnage.

The primary coal-bearing formations on the Buck Creek Complex are situated in the Western Kentucky Coal Field of the Illinois Basin (or Eastern Interior Basin) of the USA and are of middle Pennsylvanian-age. These strata include conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, shale, limestone, and coal that were deposited primarily in coastal deltaic settings. Coal rank in this area is high volatile bituminous C, with higher rank coals sometimes found along major structural fault systems. Coal in the West Kentucky Coal Field is generally medium to high sulfur, exhibiting average sulfur contents of more than 3.0 percent and averaging more than 5.0 pounds of SO2 per million Btu.

The strata on the Buck Creek Complex generally exhibit a regional northeast-southwest strike, and a regional northwestward dip towards the center of the Illinois Basin, with offsets along the fault zone. As the strata bend around the nose of the basin, strike rotates from northeast to north to northwest, along with an associated change in dip direction. Depth of cover increases gradually to the northwest towards the center of the basin. Depth of cover to the WK No. 9 seam ranges from approximately 240 feet (76 metres)-) in the east in the vicinity of the Green River to in excess of 1,100 feet (335 metres) near the town of Slaughters in the west. The WK No.9 Seam across the Project is generally continuous and noncomplex but may vary in thickness. The WK No. 11 seam occurs on average approximately 70 feet (21.3 metres) above the WK No. 11 seam and is not continuous, occurring in pods throughout the west and central portions of the property until becoming absent to the east. Due to the eventual absence of the seam in the eastern portion of the property the WK No. 11 seam is slightly more complex than the WK No. 9 seam. The mineable seam thickness for the WK No. 9 seam ranges from 3.0 feet (0.91 metres) to 5.0 feet (1.5 metres) with fairly consistent coal thickness exhibiting minimal splitting and non- coal partings. The mineable seam thickness for the WK No. 11 seam ranges from 3.0 feet (0.91 metres) to 5.5 feet (1.67 metres) and frequently includes shale partings. Furthermore, as common in Western Kentucky, the seams are affected by tectonic deformation within the resource area.

The interval overlying the WK No.9 generally consists of black shale (“Turner Mine Shale” or “TMS”) that ranges in thickness from 0 to 7.0 feet (2.13 metres) with an average of about 1.5 feet (0.46 metres). The black shale is overlain by gray shale (“Canton Shale”) ranging in thickness from 0 to 55 feet (16.76 metres). Overlying the gray shale is sandstone (“Vermillionville Sandstone”) ranging in thickness from 0 to 75 feet (22.86 metres). The interval overlying the WK No. 11 seam consists of a thin black to gray shale or claystone which is generally overlain by a limestone that can range from 2.0 feet to 10 feet in thickness.

Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Processing

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Production

Operational metrics

Personnel

Job Title	Name	Profile	Ref. Date
.......................	.......................		Dec 7, 2021

Total Workforce	Year
......	2019