Mine Index 0139 United States Fuel Company, Middle Fork Mine

Mine Index Number: 0139

Accessible description: Mine Name and Data Summary

Company Name:	United States Fuel Company
Mine Name:	Middle Fork Mine
Start Date:	1915	End Date:	June 1924
Type of Mine:	Underground
Total acres shown:	838
Acres after map date:		General Area of mining acres shown:

Shaft, Slope, Drift or Tipple Location(s)

Type	County	Township-Range	Section	Part Section

Shaft Type	County	Township-Range	Section	Part Section
Main shaft (12'x17')	Franklin	6S 3E	21	NE NE NE

Shaft Type	County	Township-Range	Section	Part Section
Air shaft (12'x15')	Franklin	6S 3E	21	NW NE NE

Geology

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

Seam	Depth (ft)	Thickness Min	Thickness max	Thickness Ave.	Mining Method
Herrin	602-609	5.0	11.5	6.0-7.67	RPP

Geological Problems Reported

The roof in the northern part of the mine was light gray shale (white top) and came down readily. “Several feet” of top coal had to be left to support this roof. Other areas had 6 inches to 6 feet of black shale as roof, which drew in some places, or limestone roof. The mine manager noted that the roof in east-west entries held, while the roof in north-south entries fell in a very short time. The coal rolled considerably in the eastern and southern parts of the mine, making it difficult to maintain easy grades on the haulage roads. The roadbeds had many hills and valleys. Rolls and slips were present in the seam, but not of sufficient density to have a detrimental affect on mining. Pyrite lenses and calcite veinlets were also present in the coal. The underclay was 4 to 5 feet thick and heaved when wet.

Production

Company	Mine Name	Date	Production (tons)

Company	Mine Name	Date	Production (tons)
Middle Fork Mining Company (add)	Middle Fork (add)	1915-1916	51,115

Company	Mine Name	Date	Production (tons)
United States Fuel Company (add)	Middle Fork (add)	1916-1924	4,016,768

Company	Mine Name	Date	Production (tons)
Total Production: 4,067,883

Production Notes

Coal Report production (if available)

Sources of Data

Source Map	Map Date	Original Scale	Digitized Scale	Map Type

Source Map	Map Date	Original Scale	Digitized Scale	Map Type
Microfilm, document 351418	7-3-1924	1:3600	1:7696	Final

Annotated Bibliography (Data source - brief description of information)

Bibliography
Coal Reports - Production, ownership, years of operation, shaft sizes, depth, thickness.

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

Bibliography
Mine notes (Franklin County) - Mine type, shaft locations, seam, depth, thickness, geologic problems.

Bibliography
Microfilm map, document 351418, reel 03136, frame 53 - Shaft locations, mine outline, mining method.