Mine Index 0034 Union Fuel Coal Company, Union No. 4 Mine

Mine Index Number: 0034

Company Name:	Union Fuel Coal Company
Mine Name:	Union No. 4 Mine
Start Date:	1892	End Date:	February 1923
Type of Mine:	Underground
Total acres shown:	591
Acres after map date:	31	General Area of mining acres shown:

Shaft, Slope, Drift or Tipple Location(s)

Type	County	Township-Range	Section	Part Section

Main shaft

Menard

18N 6W

36

SE SW NW

Air shaft

Menard

18N 6W

36

SE SW NW

Air shaft

Menard

18N 6W

35

SE SW NW

Geology

		Thickness (ft)
Seam	Depth (ft)	Min	Max	Ave	Mining Method

Springfield

203

5.6

6.1

6.0

RPP

Geological Problems Reported

Lenticular pods of black shale up to 3 feet thick made up the roof over much of the mine. In some cases, about 5 feet of limestone was over the black shale. “Soapstone”, a very clay-rich shale, was the rock above the limestone. When the limestone came down, the soapstone would also fail. One fall extended 35 feet upwards. Numerous clay veins were present in the coal, some 2 feet wide. At least one clay vein was associated with a slip where the coal was shattered for 1 foot on either side. A small fault with 1.5 feet offset was found ¼ mile east of the shaft. Pyrite lenses were present along bedding planes. The underclay floor was 7 feet of fairly soft clay, with a firmer clay below that contained boulders. The upper part heaved, especially the top 1.5 feet. The mine map shows that old works of the Athens-Dawson Mine (mine index 2939) were encountered in the southern part of the eastern extensions of this mine.

Production

Company

Mine Name

Date

Production (tons)

Wabash Coal Company (add)	Wabash (add)	1892-1898	440,852

Wabash Coal Company (add)	Wabash No. 2 (add)	1898-1919 Abandoned 1914; idle 1915-1919	1,468,805

Union Fuel Coal Company (add)	Union No. 4 (add)	1920-1923	337,645

Total Production: 2,247,302

Production Notes

Coal Report production (if available)

Sources of Data

Source Map

Map Date

Original Scale

Digitized Scale

Map Type

Microfilm, document 352214

2-4-1921

1:2400

1:4800

Not final

Company, PB_360

2-16-2913

1:2400

1:2400

Final

Annotated Bibliography (Data source - brief description of information)

Coal Reports - Production, ownership, years of operation.

Directory of Illinois Coal Mines (Menard County) - Mine names, mine index, ownership, years of operation.

Mine notes (Menard County) - Mine type, shaft location, seam, depth, thickness, geologic problems.

Microfilm map, document 352214, reel 03138, frames 269-272 - Shaft locations, mine outline, location of old works.

Company map, state archive, PB_360 - Mine outline (eastern & southeastern).