The targeted coal seams for Shoal Creek are typically mid to high volatile bituminous coals, which can be sold as metallurgical coal due to high fluidity and coking properties. The coal seams of interest, Mary Lee and Blue Creek, are of Pennsylvanian Age and are part of the Mary Lee Coal Group of the Pottsville Formation within the Warrior Coal Basin of the Southern Appalachia Coal Producing Region. The thickness of the Mary Lee and Blue Creek seams is heavily dependent upon the location of the ancient fluvial system that scoured the topography with valleys. Areas where the ancient fluvial system scoured deep valleys allowed for thick peat accumulation and therefore thicker coal deposits for the Mary Lee and Blue Creek seams. The major ancient fluvial valley trends northwest/southeast across the Shoal Creek property. High angle normal faults are common across the property and often display horst and graben structures. The general strike of the coal seams is northwest/southeast, with a dip of one degree to the southwest.

The Mary Lee and Blue Creek seams are mined as one mining section at Shoal Creek utilizing underground mining methods. The depth of cover over the Mary Lee and Blue Creek seams at Shoal Creek ranges from approximately 800 feet in the eastern area of the property, to 1,700 feet in the west.

The coal deposit type of the Shoal Creek mine is considered to have a medium geologic complexity based on the following factors:
• The Mary Lee an ........

The mining method best suited for this underground mine is the longwall mining method which has a relatively high recovery rate. The mains and gate roads are required to be developed with the continuous miner prior to the longwall mining. Since the beginning of production at Shoal Creek, this method appears to be relatively safer and more efficient compared to other available methods. Both the Mary Lee and Blue Creek coal seams are economic when they can be extracted together. Due to the parting between the two seams and the out of seam dilution, the operation utilizes a washing plant to process the ROM coal to meet coal quality specifications. For this underground operation, the key consideration includes roof control, subsidence, ventilation, dewatering, mine planning and production schedules, etc.

Mine Design
The operation follows the approved Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) roof control plan to address potential geotechnical issues encountered under current geological and mining conditions, such as mining depth, mining height, and entry widths, etc. The depth in the LOM plan area ranges from 1,000 to 1,300 feet. The typical roof controls are mainly described here for the development section (i.e., mains and gate roads) and the longwall mining system.

For mains development with a six to seven entry system, the typical pillar sizes are 90 feet by 150 feet (center-to-center). The typical entry and crosscut width are 20 feet.
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