Mine Index 0041 Niantic Carbon Coal Company, Niantic Mine

Mine Index Number: 0041

Company Name:	Niantic Carbon Coal Company
Mine Name:	Niantic Mine
Start Date:	1883	End Date:	1924
Type of Mine:	Underground
Total acres shown:	340
Acres after map date:	40	General Area of mining acres shown:

Shaft, Slope, Drift or Tipple Location(s)

Type	County	Township-Range	Section	Part Section

Main shaft

Macon

16N 1W

12

SW SW NW

Air shaft

Macon

16N 1W

12

SW SW NW

Geology

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

Springfield

365-370

6.0

4.5-5.5

RPB,LWsome LW (1918-1922)

Geological Problems Reported

Some gas problems were noted in 1884, but increased ventilation remedied the situation. The roof was 3 to 5 inches of black and blue-gray shale, overlain by 2 to 18 inches of limestone cap rock, with 40 feet of gray shale above the limestone. Horsebacks ranged from common to abundant and some were quite large. This increased the cost of mining so that the mine was sometimes not economically competitive. Clay veins were present in the coal, and the upper part of the seam contained small pyrite streaks and many pyrite concretions. The floor clay was 4.5 feet thick and heaved badly when wet.

Production

Company

Mine Name

Date

Production (tons)

Niantic Coal and Mining Company (add)	Niantic (add)	1883-1886 Idle 1886	46,670

City Coal Company (add)	Niantic (add)	1886-1891	332,286

Niantic Coal Company (add)	Niantic (add)	1891-1895	197,618

Decatur Coal Company (add)	Niantic, Decatur No. 3 (add)	1895-1914 Abandoned 1914, although the mine was later re-opened by another company Last reported production: November 1924	713,312

Niantic Mining Company (add)	Niantic (add)	1916-1917	4,962

Niantic Carbon Coal Company (add)	Niantic (add)	1917-1918	34,612

Niantic Carbon Coal Company (add)	Niantic (add)	1918-1922	101,804 Production after map date

Farmers Coal and Supply Company (add)	Niantic (add)	1922-1923	39,000 Production after map date

Niantic Carbon Coal Company (add)	Niantic (add)	1923-1924	13,873 Production after map date

Total Production: 1,484,137

Production Notes

Coal Report production (if available)

Sources of Data

Source Map

Map Date

Original Scale

Digitized Scale

Map Type

WPA, T16N-R1W

8-14-1918

1:12000

1:12000

Secondary source

Microfilm, document 352326 The microfilm map was only used to match up with WPA. The microfilm was of very poor quality and almost impossible to read.

8-14-1918

1:2400

1:414

Not final

Annotated Bibliography (Data source - brief description of information)

Coal Reports - Production, ownership, years of operation.

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

ENR Document 85/01 - Mining method.

Mine notes (Macon County) - Mine type, shaft location, seam, depth, thickness.

WPA map, T16N-R1W - Mine outline.

Microfilm map, document 352326, reel 03138, frame 432 - Shaft locations, mining method.