Mining Incidents
Search Operators Mines Alerts Research Controllers Fatalgrams About
Countries
Peru Chile
English Español
Abandoned mines › Illinois
Abandoned mine inventory

Abandoned mines in Saline County, Illinois

Saline County, Illinois has 58 mine and prospect features on USGS topographic maps published 1905–1990, including 7 mine openings (shafts, adits and air shafts); 7 of the features carry a name on the map. OSMRE's abandoned mine land inventory lists 204 problems in the county, 43 of them not yet reclaimed. MSHA's register carries 42 mines in the county with status Abandoned or Abandoned and Sealed.

Every mine and prospect feature the USGS digitized from historical topographic maps covering Saline County, every OSMRE abandoned mine land problem in the county, and every MSHA-registered mine here with status Abandoned. Named features are listed below; unnamed ones are counted by type. Locations are deliberately not shown: this page says what abandoned workings are in the county, not where to find them. They are dangerous and should not be entered.

Mapped mine features (USGS)
58
Mine openings
7
OSMRE problems unreclaimed
43
MSHA mines marked abandoned
42
7 features carry a name0 prospect pits5 quadrangle maps, published 1905–1990 204 OSMRE problems, 161 reclaimed 9 MSHA mines abandoned and sealed
What the features are
  1. Mine openings
    shafts, adits, air shafts, portals and vertical openings: the ways into underground workings
    61 23.3%
  2. Mines and surface workings
    labelled mines, open pits, strip mines, placer and hydraulic workings
    49 18.7%
  3. Quarries, gravel and borrow pits
    construction-material and industrial-mineral extraction
    2 0.8%
  4. Dumps, tailings, spoil and gob
    what mining left above ground
    41 15.6%
  5. Mills, tipples and facilities
    processing plants and hazardous structures
    17 6.5%
  6. Other reclamation problems
    highwalls, subsidence, polluted or clogged water, fires, slides and gases in OSMRE's inventory
    92 35.1%
Named features on the maps7 named · from the USGS compilation
Name on map Feature
Sahara Mine No 16 Adit
Sahara Mine No 16 Adit
Sahara Mine No 5 Mine Shaft
Sahara Mine No 5 Mine Shaft
Sahara Mine No 7 Mine Shaft
Vinyard Mine Mine Shaft
Wasson Mine No 2 Open Pit Mine

A name is the label printed beside the symbol on the map. "First mapped" is the earliest topographic edition that shows the symbol, which bounds the feature's age from above; it is not the date it was worked. Unnamed features (most prospect pits, adits and shafts carry no label) are in the counts above but not this list.

OSMRE abandoned mine land problems204 on inventory
Problem area Problem Status
Bankston Cr. C.c.-ingram P2 Clogged Stream Lands Reclamation Pending
Bankston Cr. C.c.-ingram P2 Clogged Streams Reclamation Pending
Bankston Cr. C.c.-ingram P3 Other Reclamation Pending
Bankston Cr. C.c.-ingram P3 Water Problems Reclamation Pending
Bankston Creek C.c. #4 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Bankston Creek C.c. #4 P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Bankston Creek C.c. #4 P3 Water Problems Reclamation Completed
Beecher Williams No.1 P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Beecher Williams No.1 P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Beecher Williams No.1 P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Beecher Williams No.1 P3 Water Problems Reclamation Completed
BLUE BIRD C.C. No.5 & 6 P2 Clogged Stream Lands Reclamation Completed
BLUE BIRD C.C. No.5 & 6 P2 Clogged Stream Lands Reclamation Completed
BLUE BIRD C.C. No.5 & 6 P2 Clogged Streams Reclamation Completed
BLUE BIRD C.C. No.5 & 6 P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
BLUE BIRD C.C. No.5 & 6 P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
BLUE BIRD C.C. No.5 & 6 P2 Hazardous Water Bodies Reclamation Completed
BLUE BIRD C.C. No.5 & 6 P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
BLUE BIRD C.C. No.5 & 6 P3 Water Problems Reclamation Completed
Blue Bird Highwall P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Blue Bird Pit No.3 P2 Clogged Stream Lands Reclamation Completed
Blue Bird Pit No.3 P2 Clogged Streams Reclamation Completed
Blue Bird Pit No.3 P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Blue Blaze Mine P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Blue Blaze Mine P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Blue Hole Road Embankment P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Brown Brothers No.2 P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Pending
Brown Brothers No.2 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Pending
Brown Brothers No.2 P3 Water Problems Reclamation Pending
Carrier Mills Strip Mine P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Colbert Mine P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Colbert Mine P3 High Wall In Reclamation
Colbert Mine P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Colbert Mine P3 Water Problems Reclamation Completed
Devillez Gas Leak P1 Gases: Hazardous/Explosive Reclamation Completed
Diversified Minerals, Inc P3 High Wall Reclamation Pending
Diversified Minerals, Inc P3 Water Problems Reclamation Pending
Dunn Pit Subsidence P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Eldorado Coal-dering Mne P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Eldorado Coal-dering Mne P2 Clogged Stream Lands Reclamation Completed
Eldorado Coal-dering Mne P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Eldorado Coal-dering Mne P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Eldorado Coal-dering Mne P3 Pits Reclamation Pending
Eldorado Methane Leak P1 Gases: Hazardous/Explosive Reclamation Completed
Feasel Road Embankment P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Pending
Feasel Road Embankment P3 Haul Road Reclamation Pending
Galatia Coal Company No.5 P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Galatia Coal Company No.5 P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Galatia Coal Company No.5 P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Hall Area P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Harco Methane Leak P1 Gases: Hazardous/Explosive Reclamation Completed
Harco Mine P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Harco Mine P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Harco Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Harco Mine P3 Pits In Reclamation
Harco Mine P3 Slurry Reclamation Completed
Harco Mine P3 Water Problems In Reclamation
Houston Cc P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Pending
Il - Saline - Fea P3 Other Reclamation Completed
J. Wibble C.c. Sm-13 P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
J. Wibble C.c. Sm-13 P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
J. Wibble C.c. Sm-13 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
J. Wibble C.c. Sm-13 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Jones Cemetery Highwall P1 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Pending
Jones Cemetery Highwall P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Pending
Knickerbocker C.c. P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Knickerbocker C.c. P3 Equipment Facility Reclamation Completed
Knickerbocker C.c. P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Knickerbocker C.c. P3 Water Problems Reclamation Completed
Lanham Coal Company P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Lanham Coal Company P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Ledford Mine P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Ledford Mine P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Ledford Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Ledford Strip P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Ledford Strip P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Pending
Ledford Strip P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Ledford Strip P3 Gobs Reclamation Pending
Liberty C.c. P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Liberty C.c. P3 Mine Opening Reclamation Completed
Liberty Mine Sm-7 P1 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Liberty Mine Sm-7 P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Lone Star Mine P2 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Lone Star Mine P2 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Lone Star Mine P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Pending
Marshall Equip. - Pioneer P2 Dangerous Slides Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P2 Hazardous Water Bodies Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P2 Industrial/Residential Waste Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equip. Mary Ann Mine P3 Water Problems In Reclamation
Marshall Equipment - Big Ridge P1 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Marshall Equipment - Big Ridge P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Moutain Township P1 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
New Gallatin C.c. P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Pending
O'gara - East End Shaft P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
O'gara #15 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
O'gara #15 P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
O'gara #15 P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
O'gara C.c. #5 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
O'gara C.c. #5 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
O'gara C.c. #5 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
O'gara C.c.#11 P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
O'gara C.c.#11 P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Ogara C.c. #10 P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Pending
Pankeyville Drift Entries P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Pankeyville Drift Entries P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Peabody C.c. #40 - East P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Peabody C.c. #40 - East P3 Equipment Facility Reclamation Completed
Peabody C.c. #40 - East P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Peabody C.c. #42 P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Peabody C.c. #42 P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Peabody C.c. #42 P1 Vertical Openings In Reclamation
Peabody C.c. #42 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Peabody C.c. #42 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Peabody C.c. #44 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Peabody Coal Co. No. 43 P2 Gases: Hazardous/Explosive Reclamation Completed
Peabody Will Scarlet (saline) P3 Slurry Reclamation Completed
Penrod Mine P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Penrod Mine P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Rice Pit Harrisburg No.3 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Richardson Coal Company No.2 P2 Dangerous Highwalls In Reclamation
Richardson Coal Company No.2 P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Richardson Coal Company No.2 P3 Other Reclamation Completed
Richardson Coal Company No.2 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Richardson Coal Company No.2 P3 Water Problems Reclamation Completed
Russell Street Sag Subsidence 2024 P1 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Sahara C.c. #9 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Sahara C.c. No. 14 P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Sahara C.c. No. 14 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Sahara C.c. No. 14 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Sahara C.c. No. 14 P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Sahara Cc #1 Mine P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Sahara Cc #1 Mine P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Sahara Cc #1 Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Pending
Sahara Coal Company No.12 P1 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Sahara Coal Company No.12 P1 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Sahara Coal Company No.12 P1 Surface Burning Reclamation Completed
Sahara Coal Company No.12 P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Sahara Coal Company No.12 P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Sahara Coal Company No.12 P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Sahara Coal Company No.12 P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
SAHARA NO.5 & No.6 P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
SAHARA NO.5 & No.6 P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
SAHARA NO.5 & No.6 P2 Hazardous Water Bodies Reclamation Pending
SAHARA NO.5 & No.6 P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed

…and 54 more problems not listed here.

Problem types carry OSMRE's priority prefix: P1 and P2 are threats to health, safety and property, P3 is environmental. A problem area is a cluster of problems reclaimed as one project; several rows can share one location.

MSHA-registered mines with status Abandoned42 on register
  1. #5 Ug
    Underground coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1100620
    Abandoned
  2. A And G No 1
    Surface coal · A & G Coal Company · MSHA ID 1102630
    Abandoned
  3. Arclar Mine Preparation Plant
    Facility coal · Tek-Bar Industries Inc · MSHA ID 1102806
    Abandoned
  4. Big Ridge Mine Portal No 2
    Underground coal · Big Ridge Inc · MSHA ID 1102997
    Abandoned and Sealed
  5. Big Ridge Mine Prep Plant/Maint Shop
    Surface coal · Big Ridge Inc · MSHA ID 1102879
    Abandoned
  6. Big Ridge No 1 Strip
    Surface coal · Big Ridge Coal Company · MSHA ID 1100830
    Abandoned
  7. Brown Bros Mine No 3
    Surface coal · J J Track Mining Company Inc · MSHA ID 1102811
    Abandoned
  8. Cheyenne Saline Co. #1
    Underground coal · Cheyenne Resources, Inc. · MSHA ID 1103057
    Abandoned and Sealed
  9. Conti #12
    Surface coal · Continental Augering Inc · MSHA ID 1102950
    Abandoned
  10. Conti Delta #2
    Surface coal · Continental Augering Inc · MSHA ID 1102958
    Abandoned
  11. Crouch Of Illinois #1
    Surface coal · J J Track Mining Company Inc · MSHA ID 1101659
    Abandoned
  12. Davis Enterprises
    Facility coal · Davis Enterprises · MSHA ID 1102535
    Abandoned
  13. Davis Parks Culm Bank
    Surface coal · Gene Davis Enterprises · MSHA ID 1102560
    Abandoned
  14. Delta Carbon Project
    Surface coal · K.D. Crain & Sons, Inc. · MSHA ID 1103247
    Abandoned
  15. Downstate No 1
    Surface metal/non-metal · Downstate Stone Company · MSHA ID 1102747
    Abandoned
  16. E And L Strip
    Surface coal · E & L Coal Company · MSHA ID 1100831
    Abandoned
  17. Equality Mine #1
    Surface coal · Equality Mining Company · MSHA ID 1102640
    Abandoned
  18. Farrell Auger Pit
    Surface coal · Diverified Minerals & Real Estate · MSHA ID 1101804
    Abandoned
  19. Federal Landscaping Co Mine No 1
    Surface coal · Jader Fuel Company Inc · MSHA ID 1102712
    Abandoned
  20. Ferrell Pit No 2 Auger
    Surface coal · Diverified Minerals & Real Estate · MSHA ID 1101904
    Abandoned
  21. Galatia Mine Mellennium Portal
    Underground coal · American Coal Company · MSHA ID 1103071
    Abandoned
  22. Harco
    Underground coal · Amax Coal Company · MSHA ID 1102848
    Abandoned and Sealed
  23. Illinois Fuel Auger
    Surface coal · Midwest Auger Co. · MSHA ID 1103101
    Abandoned
  24. Jader No 1 Strip
    Surface coal · Jader Fuel Company Inc · MSHA ID 1101782
    Abandoned
  25. Lakeside Synfuel Plant
    Facility coal · Lakeside Synfuel, LLC · MSHA ID 1103098
    Abandoned
  26. Mine No 20
    Underground coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1100766
    Abandoned and Sealed
  27. Mine No 21
    Underground coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1100784
    Abandoned and Sealed
  28. Mine No 22
    Underground coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1102684
    Abandoned and Sealed
  29. Mine No 6
    Surface coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1100621
    Abandoned
  30. Mine No 7
    Underground coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1102770
    Abandoned and Sealed
  31. No 16 Mine
    Underground coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1100619
    Abandoned
  32. Pitco Mine #1
    Facility coal · Pitco · MSHA ID 1102847
    Abandoned
  33. Plant
    Facility coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1101779
    Abandoned
  34. Saxton Mine
    Facility coal · Southern Resource Transfer · MSHA ID 1102935
    Abandoned
  35. SHM-30
    Surface coal · Eagle Highwall Mining Systems, LLC · MSHA ID 0103554
    Abandoned
  36. Shop
    Facility coal · Sahara Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1101815
    Abandoned
  37. Somerset No 1 Mine-Strip
    Surface coal · Somerset Mining Company · MSHA ID 1102642
    Abandoned
  38. Tek-Bar No 1
    Facility coal · Tek-Bar Industries Inc · MSHA ID 1102777
    Abandoned
  39. WFI
    Facility coal · WFI · MSHA ID 1102636
    Abandoned
  40. Wildcat Hills Mine-Underground
    Underground coal · Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC · MSHA ID 1103156
    Abandoned and Sealed
  41. Will Scarlet
    Surface coal · Peabody Coal Company · MSHA ID 1100631
    Abandoned
  42. Willow Lake Portal
    Underground coal · Big Ridge Inc · MSHA ID 1103054
    Abandoned and Sealed

Status and date are as reported to MSHA by the operator. Each mine's own page carries its accident, citation and inspection record.

By source vocabularythe publishers' own terms
Feature type Features
Strip Mine 35
P2 Dangerous Highwalls 21
P1 Vertical Openings 20
P2 Vertical Openings 19
P3 Gobs 19
P3 Water Problems 17
P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities 14
P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments 11
Open Pit Mine or Quarry 10
P3 Spoil Area 10
P2 Portals 9
P3 Pits 9
P1 Portals 6
P2 Clogged Stream Lands 5
P1 Gases: Hazardous/Explosive 5
P3 Other 4
P3 High Wall 4
P3 Slurry 4
Mine Shaft 4
P3 Haul Road 3
P1 Dangerous Highwalls 3
P2 Clogged Streams 3
Adit 3
P2 Hazardous Water Bodies 3
P1 Hazardous Equip & Facilities 3
P3 Equipment Facility 3
Open Pit Mine 2
Strip Mine 2
P2 Subsidence 2
P1 Dangerous Piles & Embankments 1
P2 Industrial/Residential Waste 1
P1 Subsidence 1
P1 Surface Burning 1
P3 Mine Opening 1
Clay Pit 1
Gravel/Borrow Pit - Undifferentiated 1
P2 Dangerous Slides 1
P2 Gases: Hazardous/Explosive 1
Other counties in IllinoisAll counties →
How to read these numbers

A USGS feature is a symbol on a historical topographic map, there when the map was surveyed; it may since have been sealed, reclaimed, built over or reopened as a working mine, and the map does not say which. An OSMRE row is a problem the abandoned mine land program tracks, not a mine. An MSHA mine is a registered operation whose operator reported abandonment, a record that starts in the 1970s. The three overlap and are never added together. The county is assigned from each feature's coordinates against the Census 2023 county boundaries. The full method is on the national page.

Sources
  1. USGS, Consolidated Prospect- and Mine-Related Features from 7.5- and 15-Minute Topographic Quadrangle Maps of the United States (USMIN)
    597,612 point and area features digitized from about 106,350 historical topographic maps published 1886–2006; public domain (CC0). A feature is a map symbol, not a field-verified site, and the map does not say whether it was still worked.
  2. USGS Fact Sheet 2025–3003, The Abandoned Mine Inventory of the United States
    States that as of 2025 there is no comprehensive national inventory of abandoned mine features, and that the detailed national database now being built will not be published.
  3. OSMRE, Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System (e-AMLIS), public Problems layer
    One row per abandoned mine land problem in a problem area, with its type, funding program and reclamation status; mostly coal mined before the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Coordinates are the problem area's.
  4. MSHA, Mines dataset (Mine Data Retrieval System)
    Every mine registered with MSHA since the 1970s; a mine reads Abandoned or Abandoned and Sealed when its operator reported that status. Refreshed weekly.
  5. US Census Bureau, 2023 cartographic county boundaries (1:500,000)
    Each feature's county is assigned by its coordinates against these boundaries, not copied from the source file.
  6. GAO-20-238, Abandoned Hardrock Mines (March 2020)
    Federal agencies had identified at least 140,000 abandoned hardrock mine features on federal land and estimated more than 390,000 more not yet captured in their databases.
  7. Abandoned Hardrock Mine Reclamation (AHMR) Program, US Department of the Interior
    The program the USGS inventory is compiled for. Its appropriations and the 674,000 field-confirmed feature count on this page were provided by the program manager, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance, and are cited with permission (2026-09-08).
  8. IMCC-NAAMLP Hardrock AML Report
    Page 48 carries the two figures this page leans on: USGS estimates 633,181 of the 725,690 mine features it recorded from historic topographic maps, 87 percent, are hardrock; and state and federal agencies have submitted more than 724,000 AML features to the national database being built, already more than the historic maps hold. Year-by-year AHMR funding is on page 35.