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Abandoned mines › New Mexico
Abandoned mine inventory

Abandoned mines in Sandoval County, New Mexico

Sandoval County, New Mexico has 650 mine and prospect features on USGS topographic maps published 1939–2006, including 59 mine openings (shafts, adits and air shafts) and 369 prospect pits; 34 of the features carry a name on the map. OSMRE's abandoned mine land inventory lists 34 problems in the county, 12 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 Sandoval 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)
650
Mine openings
59
OSMRE problems unreclaimed
12
MSHA mines marked abandoned
42
34 features carry a name369 prospect pits43 quadrangle maps, published 1939–2006 34 OSMRE problems, 22 reclaimed 2 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
    77 11.3%
  2. Prospect pits and trenches
    shallow exploration diggings that never became a mine
    369 53.9%
  3. Mines and surface workings
    labelled mines, open pits, strip mines, placer and hydraulic workings
    47 6.9%
  4. Quarries, gravel and borrow pits
    construction-material and industrial-mineral extraction
    174 25.4%
  5. Dumps, tailings, spoil and gob
    what mining left above ground
    12 1.8%
  6. Other reclamation problems
    highwalls, subsidence, polluted or clogged water, fires, slides and gases in OSMRE's inventory
    5 0.7%
Named features on the maps34 named · from the USGS compilation
Name on map Feature
Albernarle (Site) Gravel/Borrow Pit - Undifferentiated
Dorey Mine Open Pit Mine
Luciani Mine Adit
Luciani Mines Open Pit Mine
Nacimiento Mine Open Pit Mine area
Nacimiento Mine Tailings - Pond area
Padilla Mine Adit
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
San Miguel Mine Open Pit Mine
San Miguel Mine Open Pit Mine
Senorito Mine Adit
Spanish Queen Mine Adit
Spanish Queen Mine Open Pit Mine
Valle Grande Pumice Mine Quarry - Pumice
Washington Group Adit

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 problems34 on inventory
Problem area Problem Status
Arroyo De Los Pinos P1 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Arroyo De Los Pinos P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Arroyo De Los Pinos P3 Bench Reclamation Pending
Arroyo De Los Pinos P3 Gobs Reclamation Pending
Arroyo De Los Pinos P3 Haul Road Reclamation Pending
Arroyo De Los Pinos P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Pending
Cochiti Mining District P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Cochiti Mining District P1 Vertical Openings In Reclamation
Coyote P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Coyote P3 Gobs Reclamation Pending
Easley P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Pending
Hagan Town P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Hagan Town P3 Gobs Reclamation Pending
Padilla Tank P2 Portals In Reclamation
Padilla Tank P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Railroad P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Railroad P3 Bench Reclamation Completed
Railroad P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Rio Puerco Coal Fiel P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Rio Puerco Coal Fiel P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Rio Puerco Coal Fiel P3 Gobs Reclamation Pending
San Antonio P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
San Antonio P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
San Antonio P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
San Luis Mesa P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
San Luis Mesa P3 Gobs In Reclamation
San Miguel Canyon P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
San Miguel Canyon P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
San Miguel Canyon P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
San Miguel Canyon P2 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
San Miguel Canyon P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Sandia P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Sandia P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Spanish Queen P1 Portals Reclamation Pending

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. 01
    Surface metal/non-metal · R Montoya · MSHA ID 2902075
    Abandoned
  2. Algodones Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Henry Gallegos Sand · MSHA ID 2902009
    Abandoned
  3. Alpha Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Alpha Organic Material · MSHA ID 2901432
    Abandoned
  4. Arroyo Mine #1
    Surface coal · Firchau Industries · MSHA ID 2901820
    Abandoned and Sealed
  5. Caldwell Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · White Rock Pumice Company · MSHA ID 2900901
    Abandoned
  6. Casino Mine
    Surface metal/non-metal · Bar J Sand & Gravel · MSHA ID 2900178
    Abandoned
  7. CLOD BUSTER PIT #1
    Surface metal/non-metal · Agronics Inc · MSHA ID 2900785
    Abandoned
  8. Dixon's Pit #1
    Surface metal/non-metal · Urban Trucking & Excavation LLC · MSHA ID 2902371
    Abandoned
  9. EL CAJETE MINE
    Surface metal/non-metal · Copar Pumice Co., Inc. · MSHA ID 2901558
    Abandoned
  10. Elena No 2
    Surface coal · Ametex Corp · MSHA ID 2901874
    Abandoned and Sealed
  11. ESQUIRE 5-9
    Surface metal/non-metal · Utility Block Company Inc · MSHA ID 2900196
    Abandoned
  12. Gazebo
    Surface metal/non-metal · Mission Mining Inc · MSHA ID 2902052
    Abandoned
  13. Harolds Grading & Trucking
    Surface metal/non-metal · Harolds Grading & Trucking · MSHA ID 2902190
    Abandoned
  14. Humus Organic Mill
    Facility metal/non-metal · Humus Organic Products Inc · MSHA ID 2901232
    Abandoned
  15. Iron King-Lone Star Group
    Underground metal/non-metal · Nicor Mineral Ventures Inc · MSHA ID 2901892
    Abandoned
  16. La Ventana Coal Mine
    Underground coal · Ibi Coal Company · MSHA ID 2901752
    Abandoned
  17. Lti Operation
    Facility metal/non-metal · Leaching Technology Inc · MSHA ID 2901148
    Abandoned
  18. M-1
    Facility metal/non-metal · White Rock Pumice Company · MSHA ID 2900865
    Abandoned
  19. MAC #1
    Surface metal/non-metal · Sun Country Redi Mix · MSHA ID 2902117
    Abandoned
  20. Montoya Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Montoya Sand & Gravel · MSHA ID 2901021
    Abandoned
  21. Ojo Encino Humate Mine
    Surface metal/non-metal · Miocene LLC · MSHA ID 2902441
    Abandoned
  22. PENA BLANCA PIT
    Surface metal/non-metal · Ulibarri Landscaping Material Inc · MSHA ID 2901871
    Abandoned
  23. PENA BLANCA PIT
    Surface metal/non-metal · Alternative Resource Corp · MSHA ID 2902010
    Abandoned
  24. Pit 77-1-F
    Surface metal/non-metal · J W Jones Construction Company · MSHA ID 2901716
    Abandoned
  25. Ponderosa Plant
    Facility metal/non-metal · Mission Mining Inc · MSHA ID 2902053
    Abandoned
  26. Portable #1
    Surface metal/non-metal · H & H Brosious LLC · MSHA ID 2902319
    Abandoned
  27. Portable Crusher
    Surface metal/non-metal · Warren Smith Contracting Inc · MSHA ID 2902058
    Abandoned
  28. Power Screener #1
    Surface metal/non-metal · Horizon Ag Products · MSHA ID 2902364
    Abandoned
  29. Rio Puerco Mine
    Underground metal/non-metal · Kerr-Mc Gee Nuclear Corp · MSHA ID 2901651
    Abandoned
  30. San Felipe
    Surface metal/non-metal · Corn Construction Company · MSHA ID 2900491
    Abandoned
  31. SAN FELIPE PIT
    Surface metal/non-metal · Bar J Sand & Gravel · MSHA ID 2902171
    Abandoned
  32. San Luis Mine
    Surface metal/non-metal · Horizon Ag Products · MSHA ID 2902365
    Abandoned
  33. SAN YSIDRO MILL
    Surface metal/non-metal · Copar Pumice Company, Inc. · MSHA ID 2902047
    Abandoned
  34. Santa Ana
    Surface metal/non-metal · CalMat Co · MSHA ID 2901634
    Abandoned
  35. SANTO DOMINGO PUEBLO MINE
    Surface metal/non-metal · CalMat Co · MSHA ID 2902243
    Abandoned
  36. Santo Domingo Pueblo Mine Site
    Surface metal/non-metal · Vulcan Materials Company · MSHA ID 2902194
    Abandoned
  37. SCREENING PLANT
    Surface metal/non-metal · Sparling Construction Company Inc · MSHA ID 2902154
    Abandoned
  38. South Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Copar Pumice Company Inc · MSHA ID 2902256
    Abandoned
  39. Sunset
    Underground metal/non-metal · Bland Mining Company · MSHA ID 2901964
    Abandoned
  40. Tenorio Humus Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Humus Organic Products Inc · MSHA ID 2900210
    Abandoned
  41. UTE Sand & Gravel #1
    Surface metal/non-metal · Stone Age Sand & Gravel LLC · MSHA ID 2902445
    Abandoned
  42. Washington Claim
    Underground metal/non-metal · Bland Mining Company · MSHA ID 2901926
    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
Prospect Pit 369
Gravel Pit 75
Adit 49
Gravel Pit 40
Quarry - Pumice 21
Borrow Pit 15
Strip Mine 12
Open Pit Mine 11
Mine Shaft 10
Disturbed Surface - Pit 10
Gravel/Borrow Pit - Undifferentiated 10
P3 Gobs 9
P2 Portals 7
P1 Portals 6
P1 Vertical Openings 5
Open Pit Mine 4
Borrow Pit 4
Disturbed Surface 3
Strip Mine 3
Quarry 3
Clay Pit 2
P3 Bench 2
Coal Mine 2
P3 Spoil Area 2
Open Pit Mine or Quarry 2
Sand Pit 2
P2 Subsidence 1
Tailings - Pond 1
P1 Subsidence 1
Quarry 1
P3 Haul Road 1
Gravel/Borrow Pit - Undifferentiated 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.