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Abandoned mines › New Mexico
Abandoned mine inventory

Abandoned mines in Eddy County, New Mexico

Eddy County, New Mexico has 591 mine and prospect features on USGS topographic maps published 1939–2001, including 32 mine openings (shafts, adits and air shafts) and 14 prospect pits; 6 of the features carry a name on the map. OSMRE's abandoned mine land inventory lists 3 problems in the county, 1 of them not yet reclaimed. MSHA's register carries 67 mines in the county with status Abandoned or Abandoned and Sealed.

Every mine and prospect feature the USGS digitized from historical topographic maps covering Eddy 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)
591
Mine openings
32
OSMRE problems unreclaimed
1
MSHA mines marked abandoned
67
6 features carry a name14 prospect pits66 quadrangle maps, published 1939–2001 3 OSMRE problems, 2 reclaimed 0 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
    35 5.9%
  2. Prospect pits and trenches
    shallow exploration diggings that never became a mine
    14 2.4%
  3. Mines and surface workings
    labelled mines, open pits, strip mines, placer and hydraulic workings
    8 1.3%
  4. Quarries, gravel and borrow pits
    construction-material and industrial-mineral extraction
    517 87.0%
  5. Dumps, tailings, spoil and gob
    what mining left above ground
    20 3.4%
Named features on the maps6 named · from the USGS compilation
Name on map Feature
Disposal Pond Settling Pond area
Golden Eagle Mine Open Pit Mine
Guadalupe Mine Mine Shaft
International Mineral & Chemical Corp Mine Mine Shaft
Mississippi Chemical Corp Potash Mine Mine Shaft
U S Potash CO Mine 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 problems3 on inventory
Problem area Problem Status
Carlsbad P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Lone Eagle P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Pending
Queen of Guadalupe P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed

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 Abandoned67 on register
  1. 1100 Cobra Track
    Surface metal/non-metal · Hocker & Sons · MSHA ID 2902438
    Abandoned
  2. 1213s Metso H S I (LocoTrack)
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902467
    Abandoned
  3. 3042 Terex Modular Jaw
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902481
    Abandoned
  4. Amax Potash Refinery
    Facility metal/non-metal · Amax Chemical Corp · MSHA ID 2900804
    Abandoned
  5. Arroyo Quarry Brantley Dam Project
    Surface metal/non-metal · Monterey Construction Company · MSHA ID 2902004
    Abandoned
  6. Artesia Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Kirkland Construction · MSHA ID 2902095
    Abandoned
  7. B & R TRUCKING
    Surface metal/non-metal · B & R TRUCKING, INC. · MSHA ID 2902460
    Abandoned
  8. Brantley Dam Project
    Surface metal/non-metal · Monterey Construction Company · MSHA ID 2902019
    Abandoned
  9. Brantly Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Loomis Construction Company Inc · MSHA ID 2901695
    Abandoned
  10. Carlsbad Wash Plant
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902462
    Abandoned
  11. Carrasco Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Armstrong & Armstrong · MSHA ID 2901732
    Abandoned
  12. Carrasco Quarry
    Surface metal/non-metal · 31 Services · MSHA ID 2902509
    Abandoned
  13. Cimarron Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Mo's Crushing · MSHA ID 2902548
    Abandoned
  14. Constructors Inc Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · J W Jones Construction Company · MSHA ID 2901985
    Abandoned
  15. Cooksey
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902429
    Abandoned
  16. Crusher 1
    Surface metal/non-metal · J & H SERVICES, INC · MSHA ID 2902470
    Abandoned
  17. Crusher 3
    Surface metal/non-metal · Sweatt Construction, Inc. · MSHA ID 2902311
    Abandoned
  18. Crusher 4
    Surface metal/non-metal · Sweatt Construction Inc · MSHA ID 2902478
    Abandoned
  19. Crystalline Phoenix
    Surface metal/non-metal · Crystalline Phoenix LLC · MSHA ID 2902385
    Abandoned
  20. Dark Canyon Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Southway Construction Company · MSHA ID 2901950
    Abandoned
  21. Douglas Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Lafarge Southwest · MSHA ID 2900869
    Abandoned
  22. Douglas Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · H & H BROSIOUS LLC · MSHA ID 2902272
    Abandoned
  23. Draper-Brantley Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Brown Construction Company · MSHA ID 2901715
    Abandoned
  24. Eagle HSI 1200-25
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902461
    Abandoned
  25. Eavenson Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Rose Gravel Company · MSHA ID 2901941
    Abandoned
  26. Eddy County Pits
    Surface metal/non-metal · County Of Eddy · MSHA ID 2901714
    Abandoned
  27. Flotation Plant
    Facility metal/non-metal · Mississippi Chemical Corp · MSHA ID 2900803
    Abandoned
  28. GREGORY PIT
    Surface metal/non-metal · Lafarge Southwest Incorporated · MSHA ID 2902219
    Abandoned
  29. H B Potash
    Underground metal/non-metal · H B Potash LLC · MSHA ID 2900173
    Abandoned
  30. Herron pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Valley Land LLC · MSHA ID 2902443
    Abandoned
  31. Hidalgo Plant
    Surface metal/non-metal · Rose Gravel Company · MSHA ID 2900479
    Abandoned
  32. Hobbs Highway Plant
    Facility metal/non-metal · United Salt Corp · MSHA ID 2901072
    Abandoned
  33. Hobbs Potash Facility Refinery
    Facility metal/non-metal · Kerr-Mc Gee Oil Industries Inc · MSHA ID 2900801
    Abandoned
  34. HORIZON POTASH
    Underground metal/non-metal · Horizon Potash Recvrship/Burton Electric & Const · MSHA ID 2900174
    Abandoned
  35. Imc Mine
    Underground metal/non-metal · International Minerals & Chemical Corp · MSHA ID 2900169
    Abandoned
  36. IROCK TC20 HSI
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902477
    Abandoned
  37. IROCK TS 620 SCREEN
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902469
    Abandoned
  38. IROCK TS-516 *LOAN*S/N:89180
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902463
    Abandoned
  39. Johnson Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Water Spur LLC · MSHA ID 2902447
    Abandoned
  40. Johnson Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Rock Star Packing · MSHA ID 2902459
    Abandoned
  41. KW Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Rockstar Packing LLC · MSHA ID 2902515
    Abandoned
  42. Loco Hills Landfarm LLC
    Surface metal/non-metal · Loco Hills Landfarm LLC · MSHA ID 2902312
    Abandoned
  43. LOVING SALT LTD CO
    Surface metal/non-metal · Loving Salt Ltd Company · MSHA ID 2902131
    Abandoned
  44. Metso Crusher Plant #1
    Surface metal/non-metal · Renegade Construction LLC · MSHA ID 2902456
    Abandoned
  45. Mobil C #2 Artesia Airport Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Rose Gravel Company · MSHA ID 2901974
    Abandoned
  46. Mobile Crusher 2
    Surface metal/non-metal · Sweatt Construction Inc. · MSHA ID 2902437
    Abandoned
  47. NASH DRAW MINE
    Underground metal/non-metal · Western Ag-Minerals Company · MSHA ID 2900166
    Abandoned
  48. North Mine
    Underground metal/non-metal · Duval Corp · MSHA ID 2900799
    Abandoned
  49. Pca Mill
    Facility metal/non-metal · Potash Company Of America · MSHA ID 2900800
    Abandoned
  50. PORTABLE SCREEN PLANT
    Surface metal/non-metal · M & M Excavating Inc · MSHA ID 2902157
    Abandoned
  51. POWERSCREEN HSI XH500
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902479
    Abandoned
  52. Refinery
    Facility metal/non-metal · Mississippi Chemical Corp · MSHA ID 2900844
    Abandoned
  53. Rio Pecos Materials Baymax pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Rio Pecos Materials LLC · MSHA ID 2902538
    Abandoned
  54. Rockhouse Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Mo's Crushing · MSHA ID 2902550
    Abandoned
  55. Rocky Arroyo
    Surface metal/non-metal · Tezak Construction Company Inc · MSHA ID 2901923
    Abandoned
  56. Rocky Arroyo
    Surface metal/non-metal · Southway Construction Company · MSHA ID 2901939
    Abandoned
  57. Rogers Gravel Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Rogers Backhoe Service · MSHA ID 2901779
    Abandoned
  58. Rose Gravel Company
    Surface metal/non-metal · Rose Gravel Company · MSHA ID 2900480
    Abandoned
  59. SAUNDERS MILL
    Facility metal/non-metal · Western Ag-Minerals Company · MSHA ID 2900167
    Abandoned
  60. Saunders Shafts
    Underground metal/non-metal · Western Ag-Minerals Company · MSHA ID 2901992
    Abandoned
  61. School House Draw
    Surface metal/non-metal · Boar Contractors Inc · MSHA ID 2902051
    Abandoned
  62. Sherrell Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Dan Daniels Contractor · MSHA ID 2901733
    Abandoned
  63. United Salt Bagging Plant
    Facility metal/non-metal · United Salt Corp · MSHA ID 2901044
    Abandoned
  64. Unlimited Construction Crusher #1
    Surface metal/non-metal · Unlimited Construction 2 LLC · MSHA ID 2902505
    Abandoned
  65. Valentine Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · United Materials, LLP · MSHA ID 2902333
    Abandoned
  66. Wilbanks Land and Cattle
    Surface metal/non-metal · Century Club Construction · MSHA ID 2902457
    Abandoned
  67. Witt Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Mo's Crushing LLC · MSHA ID 2902549
    Abandoned

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
Gravel Pit 276
Gravel Pit 149
Quarry 71
Mine Shaft 30
Tailings - Undifferentiated 15
Prospect Pit 14
Gravel/Borrow Pit - Undifferentiated 8
Caliche Pit 6
Open Pit Mine or Quarry 4
Tailings - Pond 4
Caliche Pit 4
P1 Vertical Openings 3
Quarry 3
Adit 2
Open Pit Mine 2
Disturbed Surface 1
Mine 1
Settling Pond 1
Other counties in New MexicoAll 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.