Abandoned mines in Carter County, Kentucky

1. Mine openings

   shafts, adits, air shafts, portals and vertical openings: the ways into underground workings
   98 20.3%
2. Mines and surface workings

   labelled mines, open pits, strip mines, placer and hydraulic workings
   200 41.4%
3. Quarries, gravel and borrow pits

   construction-material and industrial-mineral extraction
   117 24.2%
4. Dumps, tailings, spoil and gob

   what mining left above ground
   19 3.9%
5. Mills, tipples and facilities

   processing plants and hazardous structures
   2 0.4%
6. Other reclamation problems

   highwalls, subsidence, polluted or clogged water, fires, slides and gases in OSMRE's inventory
   47 9.7%

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.

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.

1. #1 Surface

   Surface coal · D & D Coal Company · MSHA ID 1508774
   Abandoned 1985-08-15
2. A & B Coal

   Facility coal · A & B Coal Processing Inc · MSHA ID 1511693
   Abandoned 1998-09-29
3. Age 202 Surface

   Surface coal · Placer Coal Inc · MSHA ID 1511616
   Abandoned 1979-10-01
4. Atlas Tipple

   Facility coal · East Kentucky Paving Corp · MSHA ID 1508167
   Abandoned 1979-10-30
5. Big Valley Surface Mine

   Surface coal · Bluegrass Mining · MSHA ID 1510287
   Abandoned 1983-04-21
6. C-7 Surface

   Surface coal · Grayson Coal Co Inc · MSHA ID 1507982
   Abandoned 1980-04-21
7. Carter City

   Surface metal/non-metal · Mountain Materials · MSHA ID 1500098
   Abandoned 2019-10-17
8. Carter No 1 Surface

   Surface coal · T B S Mining Inc · MSHA ID 1511451
   Abandoned 1979-10-01
9. Carter No 1 Surface Mine

   Surface coal · Grayson Coal Co Inc · MSHA ID 1507028
   Abandoned 1980-02-01
10. Carter Pit

    Surface metal/non-metal · General Refractories Company · MSHA ID 1500158
    Abandoned 1982-11-09
11. Century No 2 Surface

    Surface coal · Century Coal Enterprises · MSHA ID 1511219
    Abandoned 1980-01-30
12. Clifty Creek Surface

    Surface coal · Candy Ann Enterprises · MSHA ID 1511354
    Abandoned 1978-09-11
13. Coal Bank Road Mine

    Surface coal · E W Blevins · MSHA ID 1515151
    Abandoned 1986-05-13
14. Ford Burchett

    Surface metal/non-metal · Ford Burchett Clay Company · MSHA ID 1504180
    Abandoned 1983-08-08
15. Fultz Clay Mine

    Surface metal/non-metal · Burge & Fultz Clay Company · MSHA ID 1502137
    Abandoned 1983-09-29
16. Grahn Brick Works

    Facility metal/non-metal · Louisville Fire Brick Works · MSHA ID 1503860
    Abandoned 1980-02-08
17. Grassy Stone

    Surface metal/non-metal · Mountain Materials Inc. · MSHA ID 1517312
    Abandoned 2012-09-14
18. Gravel Lick

    Surface coal · Addington Inc · MSHA ID 1516095
    Abandoned 1990-10-01
19. Grefcoal No 14

    Surface coal · General Refractories Company · MSHA ID 1509972
    Abandoned 1976-12-13
20. Grefcoal No 5 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · General Refractories Company · MSHA ID 1504357
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
21. Grefcoal Tipple

    Facility coal · General Refractories Company · MSHA ID 1505211
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
22. Haney Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Haney Brothers Clay Company · MSHA ID 1509326
    Abandoned 1982-07-21
23. Hitchens Works

    Facility metal/non-metal · General Refractories Company · MSHA ID 1508273
    Abandoned 1980-05-02
24. Hm No 2 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · High Meadows Coal Inc · MSHA ID 1508128
    Abandoned 1980-05-14
25. Jager Surface

    Surface coal · Jager Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1510927
    Abandoned 1978-06-26
26. Job C-1 Surface

    Surface coal · Ford Energy Corp · MSHA ID 1511220
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
27. K & M Energy Inc

    Surface coal · K & M Energy Inc · MSHA ID 1517992
    Abandoned 1998-09-29
28. Lawton Tipple

    Facility coal · Kenoma Coal Company · MSHA ID 1511542
    Abandoned 1980-09-02
29. Leon Tipple

    Facility coal · Addington Brothers Mining Inc · MSHA ID 1510770
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
30. Mine #1

    Surface coal · Ridgetop Mining Inc · MSHA ID 1515491
    Abandoned 1987-09-29
31. No 1

    Underground coal · Big Eagle Coal Company · MSHA ID 1514505
    Abandoned and Sealed 1988-01-21
32. No 1

    Surface coal · Gateway Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1516244
    Abandoned 1988-03-01
33. No 1

    Underground coal · Koal Mining Inc · MSHA ID 1516887
    Abandoned and Sealed 1996-02-26
34. No 1

    Surface coal · Collinsworth Excavating · MSHA ID 1516918
    Abandoned 1990-11-21
35. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Little Sandy Coal Sales Inc · MSHA ID 1507198
    Abandoned 1979-11-01
36. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · P & O Mining Company Inc · MSHA ID 1508761
    Abandoned 1978-05-04
37. No 1 Surface

    Underground coal · Roy G Hall Construction Co Inc · MSHA ID 1508969
    Abandoned 1976-08-23
38. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · C & M Mining Company Inc · MSHA ID 1509324
    Abandoned 1985-07-23
39. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Parsons Enterprises Inc · MSHA ID 1509395
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
40. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Cave Run Mining Company Inc · MSHA ID 1509617
    Abandoned 1976-10-18
41. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Kentucky & Ohio Coal Production Co Inc · MSHA ID 1509766
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
42. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Stripco Coal Corp · MSHA ID 1509767
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
43. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Contour Grading Inc · MSHA ID 1510400
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
44. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Wil-Burn Coal Company · MSHA ID 1510424
    Abandoned 1987-04-20
45. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Little Fork Mining Company · MSHA ID 1510426
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
46. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Shaker Coal Company · MSHA ID 1510597
    Abandoned 1981-10-26
47. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · W W Coal Inc · MSHA ID 1510709
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
48. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · R P H Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1510769
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
49. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Prichard Energy Inc · MSHA ID 1513042
    Abandoned 1995-08-01
50. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Messer Clay Company · MSHA ID 1513717
    Abandoned 1986-01-21
51. No 1 Surface

    Surface coal · Graycar Coal Inc · MSHA ID 1515290
    Abandoned 1986-11-03
52. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Guardian Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1507623
    Abandoned 1979-10-11
53. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Preston Hunt Coal Co · MSHA ID 1508772
    Abandoned 1979-12-18
54. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Prichard Mining Company · MSHA ID 1508773
    Abandoned 1979-11-18
55. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Zep Coal Company · MSHA ID 1508775
    Abandoned 1979-11-25
56. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · B W & Associates Inc · MSHA ID 1508778
    Abandoned 1979-10-27
57. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · J & R Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1508779
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
58. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · K & M Trucking Company Inc · MSHA ID 1509999
    Abandoned 1984-01-04
59. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Linn B Coal Company · MSHA ID 1511306
    Abandoned 1982-07-21
60. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · L & B Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1511356
    Abandoned 1982-08-19
61. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · L & J Contracting · MSHA ID 1512834
    Abandoned 1984-09-11
62. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Litton Energy Inc · MSHA ID 1513046
    Abandoned 1981-10-28
63. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · K & K Coal Company · MSHA ID 1513097
    Abandoned 1984-01-04
64. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Carper Brothers Coal · MSHA ID 1513373
    Abandoned 1983-10-18
65. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Gun Creek Mining Company Inc · MSHA ID 1513534
    Abandoned 1983-04-19
66. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · L & B Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1513656
    Abandoned 1990-09-27
67. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · E & K Fuels Inc · MSHA ID 1513763
    Abandoned 1984-09-18
68. No 1 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Herman Bishop · MSHA ID 1513919
    Abandoned 1984-10-10
69. No 1 Surface Mine (D)

    Surface coal · H & H Mining Company · MSHA ID 1511987
    Abandoned 1982-07-21
70. No 1 Tipple

    Facility coal · Hitchens Bituminous Coals Ltd · MSHA ID 1508169
    Abandoned 1980-09-08
71. No 1 Tipple

    Surface coal · Kentucky Coal & Energy · MSHA ID 1511303
    Abandoned 1980-03-13
72. No 1 Tipple

    Facility coal · Little Sandy Coal Sand & Gravel · MSHA ID 1512133
    Abandoned 1994-03-21
73. No 2 Strip

    Surface coal · M K M Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1515012
    Abandoned 1988-03-01
74. No 2 Surface

    Surface coal · Point Stone Coal Company Incoporated · MSHA ID 1509936
    Abandoned 1977-03-07
75. No 2 Surface

    Surface coal · Tishona Coal Corp · MSHA ID 1511393
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
76. No 2 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Wright Coal Company · MSHA ID 1513438
    Abandoned 1983-05-02
77. No 3 Surface

    Surface coal · D D & S Coal Company · MSHA ID 1508963
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
78. No 3 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Aden Inc · MSHA ID 1504354
    Abandoned 1980-04-28
79. No 3 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Gauley River Resources Inc · MSHA ID 1513075
    Abandoned 1982-06-25
80. No 4 Surface

    Surface coal · Norma Jean Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1512458
    Abandoned 1981-04-17
81. No 5 Surface

    Surface coal · Energy Products Inc · MSHA ID 1510999
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
82. No 6 Surface

    Surface coal · S S C Mining Inc · MSHA ID 1508780
    Abandoned 1980-01-31
83. No 7 Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Tygart Creek Coal Company Inc · MSHA ID 1513310
    Abandoned 1983-04-08
84. No B-4 Strip

    Surface coal · Rapoca Resources · MSHA ID 1504359
    Abandoned 1972-05-11
85. No. 1

    Surface coal · S and M Construction · MSHA ID 1518490
    Abandoned and Sealed 2005-12-12
86. Point Stone No 3 Surface

    Surface coal · Point Stone Coal Company Incoporated · MSHA ID 1509596
    Abandoned 1979-10-01
87. Ramsey Surface Mine

    Surface coal · Harrison - Taylor Corp · MSHA ID 1509783
    Abandoned 1976-09-30
88. Tipple No 1

    Facility coal · American Processed Coals · MSHA ID 1514161
    Abandoned 1985-06-27
89. Triple R Mining Co #1

    Surface coal · Triple R Mining Company · MSHA ID 1515351
    Abandoned 1987-11-19
90. Tussey #1

    Surface coal · Tonia Tussey Coal Company · MSHA ID 1518297
    Abandoned 2001-01-18
91. Union Boiler No 4 Surface

    Surface coal · Union Boiler Company · MSHA ID 1509831
    Abandoned 1977-06-23
92. VALLEY STONE, LLC QUARRY 2

    Surface metal/non-metal · Valley Stone Llc · MSHA ID 1500104
    Abandoned 2002-05-06

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

• Pike County 2,690
• Floyd County 2,006
• Letcher County 1,343
• Knott County 989
• Harlan County 911
• Johnson County 802
• Whitley County 726
• Perry County 695
• Knox County 639
• Bell County 627
• Leslie County 540
• Clay County 433

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.