News Release
02.08.10
Luminant Announces Plans to Expand Big Brown MineDallas -
Proposed Turlington Mine Area would serve Big Brown Power Plant
Big Brown Mine is moving forward with plans to enter its next phase of mining, through an expansion that could open as soon as late 2010.
Known as the Turlington Mine Area, the new deposit in Freestone County neighbors the existing mine area and would serve Big Brown Power Plant. Luminant has submitted an application to the Railroad Commission of Texas requesting a five-year surface mining permit, which includes a period of roughly one to two years of start-up construction activities.
“We are looking forward to sustaining our mining operations in the area through this expansion,” said Steve Kopenitz, Luminant senior vice president of mining. “We're still refining our plans, but we feel confident that we have several more years of successful mining in Freestone County.”
Pending receipt of all permit approvals, operations at the new deposit would ramp up as the existing mine area nears the end of its productive lifespan and enters a final reclamation process, anticipated by late 2011. To date, nearly 15,000 acres of mined lands have already been reclaimed at the existing mine for use as forests, pastures and wildlife habitats.
Please see below for more information about the proposed Big Brown Mine expansion.
Q. What is the location of this deposit in relation to the existing mine area?
A. The Turlington Mine Area neighbors the existing Big Brown Mine. It is located completely in Freestone County east of Fairfield Lake and approximately seven miles east/northeast of the city of Fairfield.
Q. What will happen to the land at the existing mine area?
A. Luminant is committed to returning mined lands to their previous, if not better, condition. The excellence of Luminant's land reclamation program has been recognized with nearly 90 awards, including the Director's Award, the nation's highest honor for advancing the science of reclamation, from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining. Luminant has received this award five times, including consecutive recognitions in 2008 and 2009.
Q. When would Luminant begin mining the expanded area?
A. Luminant must first acquire all necessary permits and complete any needed start-up construction prior to beginning operation. The earliest we anticipate beginning mining would be in late 2010, pending receipt of all permit approvals.
Q. How long does Luminant plan to mine in this area?
A. The company would be permitted to mine for up to five years. During that time, we anticipate mining roughly 1,000 acres of the 10,000-acre area under review in the permitting process.
Q. Is Luminant still purchasing property for the mine expansion?
A. We have acquired all of the property needed for the first five years of our proposed permit. Landowners with questions can contact Luminant's real estate department at (903) 389-9847.
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About Luminant
Luminant, a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings Corp., is a competitive power generation business, including mining, wholesale marketing and trading, construction and development operations. Luminant has more than 17,500 megawatts of existing generation in Texas, including 2,300 MW fueled by nuclear power and 7,200 MW fueled by coal. An additional 800 MW of coal-fueled generation capacity is under construction and expected to begin commercial operation in 2010. The company is also the largest purchaser of wind-generated electricity in Texas and fifth largest in the United States. EFH is a Dallas-based energy holding company that has a portfolio of competitive and regulated energy subsidiaries, primarily in Texas. Visit www.luminant.com or www.energyfutureholdings.com for additional information.
Media
Ashley Monts
(214) 875-8010
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