Mine Index 0611 Roanoke Coal Company, Roanoke Mine

Mine Index Number: 0611

Company Name:	Roanoke Coal Company
Mine Name:	Roanoke Mine
Start Date:	1881	End Date:	1940
Type of Mine:	Underground
Total acres shown:	900
Production Indicated Acres:	11	General Area of mining acres shown:

Shaft, Slope, Drift or Tipple Location(s)

Type	County	Township-Range	Section	Part Section

Main shaft

Woodford

27N 1W

14

NE SW SW

Air shaft (8.5 x 5.5 ft)

Woodford

27N 1W

14

NE SW SW

Geology

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

Colchester

480

2.33

2.33

2.5

LW

Geological Problems Reported

The Springfield Coal was mined when the shaft was first opened up, but quality issues encouraged development of the lower seam. The roof for the Colchester Coal was dark gray shale that was finely and evenly laminated, and some areas were very fractured. The coal was brittle. Pyrite was present in balls and bands. The distribution was irregular. Bands ranged in thickness from 0.12 inch to 1.5 inches, and the number of bands varied. Pyrite balls averaged 1.5 to 2.0 inches thick and up to 8 inches across, and were easily removed. Considerable black jack, or pyritized mother coal, was seen in the mine, but the bands were not persistent throughout the mine. The black jack was not easily removed from the coal. Calcite and kaolinite facings were also present in the coal, but the black jack was the most common impurity. The gob pile for the mine provided clay for a neighboring brick and tile plant.

Production

Company

Mine Name

Date

Production (tons)

Peter Belsley (add)	Roanoke (add)	1881-1883	6,000

Roanoke Coal and Mining Company (add)	Roanoke No. 1 (add)	1883-1907	1,542,238

Roanoke Coal Company (add)	Roanoke No. 1 (add)	1907-1924	1,706,174

J. T. Barron (add)	Roanoke No. 1 (add)	1924-1928	138,172

Roanoke Coal and Tile Company (add)	Roanoke No. 1 (add)	1929-1936	168,723

Roanoke Coal and Tile Company (add)	Roanoke No. 1 (add)	1937-1938	24,869

Roanoke Coal Company (add)	Roanoke (add)	1939-1940	17,421

Total Production: 3,603,597

Production Notes

Coal Report production (if available)

Sources of Data

Source Map

Map Date

Original Scale

Digitized Scale

Map Type

State Archive, IL_1586

12-21-1936

1:2400

1:2400

Not final

Annotated Bibliography (Data source - brief description of information)

Coal Reports - Production, ownership, years of operation.

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

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

State Archive, IL_1586, courtesy of Robert Gibson, IDNR - Shaft locations, mine outline, mining method.