POWDER RIVER COAL COMPANY
GILLETTE, WYOMING

CABALLO COAL MINE

Caballo Coal Mine first began operating in 1978. This mine has six new 270 - ton Unit Rig trucks which are the largest trucks built today. Their new shovel is a P & H 4100 which is also the newest and largest shovel available at this time. Caballo employs 247 men and women. All areas of Caballo Coal Mine are computerized, including the office, the equipment, the plant, and the warehouse. Caballo has plans for mining coal through the year 2009 and there will still be coal remaining after this time.

Safety at the mine is stressed at all times. Some employees participate in a program called SMET, or Surface Mine Emergency Team. SMET members work their regular shifts alongside other members of their crew and respond to any emergency on the mine site immediately. Caballo has its own fire truck and ambulance on the mine site to reduce the response time to any type of accident which may occur. In 1995, Caballo Mine worked 564,000 employee hours without a lost time accident . This is approximately 476 days of operating safely. Caballo Mine works two twelve- hour shifts, twenty- four hours a day, 365 days a year.

Some of the wildlife found on the mine property include deer, antelope, eagles, rabbits, and coyotes. Drivers of the equipment have to watch for the animals on the haul roads at all times because at Caballo, animals have the right of way. (See ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES.)

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