Colorado Mines

Seneca Mine

Owner

Peabody Group (Peabody Western Coal Company)

Rail Loading Point

Hayden Gulch, Colorado

Background on Mine

Expertise in mining coal in extreme conditions is exemplified by Peabody Western Coal Company's Seneca mine. At elevations between 6,500 and 8,000 feet high in the Colorado Rockies, Seneca produces coal from some of the most steeply-pitched coal seams in the country. Adding to the difficulty, the mine receives as much as 300 inches of snow annually and operates at temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero.

Seneca has produced coal continuously since 1964 for the neighboring Hayden Generating Station, one of the lowest-cost power plants in the country, now owned by Public Service Company of Colorado. From two pits, the mine produces about 1.5 million tons of high-quality sub-bituminous coal each year from the Wadge and the Wolf Creek seams, using a BE 650 dragline and a BE 770 dragline. The draglines operate 24 hours per day year round, moving 7 million cubic yards of material. Coal is loaded on two shifts.

Seneca returns about 50 acres of surface-mined lands each year to high-quality wildlife habitat and livestock grazing. Since 1968, Seneca has reclaimed more than 1,500 acres.

Mine Type

Strip

Current Annual Production Capacity

1.7 million tons

Coal Specifications

10,650 Btu/lb., 0.50% Sulphur