SUWA's latest accusation from spokesman Ken Rait that Andalex is masking its intent for coal production from the proposed Smoky Hollow mine is nothing more than a shallow rehash of his previous charges, which have already been refuted and dismissed. These allegations remain long on rhetoric and short on substance.
If a railroad or slurry line were available in southern Utah, then Andalex's reserve could certainly have the capacity to support several mines and 8 million tons per year production. This is a well-known fact to all who are familiar with Utah's coal reserves and has been public knowledge for the past 25 to 30 years. Obviously, however, this has nothing to do with our present proposal, which is being analyzed in the federal EIS permitting process.The Kaiparowits coal field is widely known to be the largest source of energy available to the state of Utah and contains the energy equivalent of 18 billion barrels of Middle East crude oil. At a time when America is once again sending its young men and women to the Persian Gulf to risk their lives in order to maintain this nation's energy supply, it would seem appropriate for all of us, including Ken Rait of SUWA, to seek a reasonable balance in our resource priorities.
Dave Shaver
Project manager
Andalex Resources Inc.