Cordero Rojo mine to receive reclamation award

Cloud Peak Energy’s Cordero Rojo coal mine has been awarded the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement’s 2015 Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Award for its restoration work on the Belle Fourche River.

The mine relocated a portion of the river and reclaimed the stream channel to return it to approximately the same conditions as existed before mining. The reclaimed stream channel is “stable from erosion with abundant grass cover and the aquatic life has been restored including fish and macro invertebrates,” said the company in a press release.

The award will be presented at the National Mining Association’s awards ceremony in Washington DC on 9 November.

“The Belle Fourche River project represents a great example of surface mining reclamation,” added Kyle Colby, General Manager of the Cordero Rojo mine. “Moving and returning the Belle Fourche River required significant planning in coordination with regulatory agencies and proper execution. To receive this award for our work means a lot.”

Cordero Rojo was the third largest coal mine in the US in 2014, mining and shipping about 34.8 million short t of coal.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/14102015/cordero-rojo-mine-to-receive-coal-mine-reclamation-award-3012/