According to local newspaper the Leader Times, an exhaust air shaft, small power substation and water treatment ponds can be constructed on a 25-acre tract in North Buffalo Township. The fan will serve Rosebud’s Clementine underground mine.
Rosebud engineering manager Dennis Grelle told the paper that the shaft will measure about 10 feet in diameter and descend underground about 450ft.
An electric fan at the top will be encompassed by a steel housing that is 12ft high by 30ft long by 15ft wide.
He also noted the air shaft will be sealed off with steel casing at 8ft in diameter and then the entire shaft closed with 2ft of concrete.
While the proposal was unanimously approved by local officials, Rosebud will have to meet certain conditions, including a gated road to the site and the use of fencing around the pond to prevent access, the newspaper said.
Additionally, the fan cannot exceed 63 decibels at the property line, and mining at the site is prohibited.
Coal trucks, mining equipment transport and machinery processing are also not allowed. In fact, only daily inspection vehicles may enter.
Grelle said construction was expected to begin in late spring and last about six months.
The Clementine operation, which has extracted bituminous product from the Lower Kittanning seam since 2001, is located about an hour north of Pittsburgh.
