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In 1976, Cordero began mining the property for coal, and
it continued mining the property until June 1993 when
petitioner sold Cordero to Kennecott Coal Co. (Kennecott),
as described below.
Cordero began mining the Gillette property by making a
“box cut” in the ground to expose the coal seam. The term
“box cut” describes the vertical and lateral removal of
“overburden” to gain initial access to the coal. The term
“overburden” refers to the soil and rock that overlay a
coal seam.
After making the box cut on the Gillette property,
Cordero began strip mining coal. This type of mining
involves the systematic advance removal of overburden to
expose the coal seam and to permit continuous extraction
of the exposed mineral. The parties agree that the
removal of overburden in this case benefited only the
limited increment of the coal seam that was exposed after
the overburden was removed. Following its removal, the
stripped overburden was either deposited as part of
reclaiming the disturbed or mined areas, or it was stored
for later use in reclaiming those areas.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011