Western Kentucky Minerals permitting and reserve development official Tim Rhye told International Longwall News that the 700-acre property in Daviess County was set to go back before planning and zoning officials in nearby Owensboro on May 10.

If approved, the miner will enter the mine’s permitting phase, which Rhye said was expected to extend two years. He said WKM was targeting a production start date in early 2014.

P Ridge will kick off at that time with a small crew of about eight to ten individuals producing 10,000 clean tons per month.

At prime levels, the operation will target about 400,000 tons annually, or approximately 30,000tpm,with 30-40 miners working on a day shift and smaller night shift.

Rhye told ILN while some of the equipment that would extract from the mine’s two to three coal seams would be sent to the site from its active Joe’s Run surface mine in neighboring Knoxville, but it also planned to purchase some rebuild units for its fleet.

With total mineable resources estimated at about 2.1 million tons, the official said the P Ridge crew would be mining at the proposed operation for seven to nine years once production starts.

There are additional adjacent reserves, he added, for which additional permits could be secured for future expansion.

Coal will be trucked from P Ride to the Yellow Banks River Terminal for transport.