HARRISBURG – State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-74 of Houtzdale, said that an Osceola Mills company will reclaim a mine abandoned almost 50 years ago in Woodward Township.
Finney Enterprises Inc. will restore the site – remediating 2.1 acres of mine land and 550 feet of highwall – at no cost to the Commonwealth. In return for the work, valued at $25,800, the firm will recover about 6,000 tons of coal.
The mine is one-half mile southeast of Sanborn along Baker Road in the Sanborn Run, Clearfield Creek and West Branch of the Susquehanna River watershed.
The Moshannon District Office of the state Department of Environmental Protection, which awarded the contract, said the Baker Operation site was mined and later abandoned by the S.R. Hansel Coal Co. in the early 1960s.
Blasting and reprocessing of coal refuse at the site is prohibited. At least 483 tons of alkaline material will be applied to the site, which will be graded close to original contours.