Mine Index Number: 1018
| Company Name:
|
Black Beauty Coal Company
|
| Mine Name:
|
Riola Mine
|
| Start Date:
|
April 12, 1996
|
End Date:
|
June 9, 2006
|
| Type of Mine:
|
Underground
|
| Total acres shown:
|
1,853
|
| Acres after map date:
|
|
General Area of mining acres shown:
|
|
|
|
Shaft, Slope, Drift or Tipple Location(s)
| Type
|
County
|
Township-Range
|
Section
|
Part Section
|
| Main slope
|
Vermilion
|
18N 12W
|
33
|
SE NE NE
|
| Air shaft
|
Vermilion
|
18N 12W
|
28
|
NE SE SE
|
| Air shaft
|
Vermilion
|
18N 12W
|
28
|
SW SE SE
|
Geology
| Herrin
|
251
|
4.5
|
|
5.8-6.8
|
RPP
|
Geological Problems Reported
Faults trending E-W were noted on the source map. Roof falls were relatively
common, and were relatively large (size not given). The roof was generally silty shale and siltstone, with occasional
fine sandstone beds that were 1 foot or more thick. At the base of the slope, shearing created an unstable roof that
was difficult to support with roof bolting. In some instances, most of the movement along the shear was horizontal,
but in other areas nearby and few feet up into the roof, the shearing dipped at various angles and trends, even along
a single shear surface. There were numerous indications of soft sediment flow before complete lithification of the roof
sediments or the coal. In the area at the slope bottom, the 5 foot mechanical bolts were supplemented with 8 to 12
foot resin bolts, often with “bacon strips”, thin metal bands attached to adjacent roof bolts to help support smaller
pieces of roof rock. A clay dike was seen, although clay dikes are rare in the Herrin Coal. Rolls were large (across
multiple entries) and mine plans were altered to leave pillars under them where possible. Pyrite and siderite in lenses
and nodules were found. The lenses were up to 0.2 feet thick and more than 1 foot in diameter. The sulphur content
was generally less than 2%.
Production
| Company
|
Mine Name
|
Date
|
Production (tons)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total Production: 8,458,877
|
Production Notes
Coal Report production (if available)
Sources of Data
| Company, 6-424
|
6-9-2006
|
1:6000
|
1:6000
|
Final
|
Annotated Bibliography (Data source - brief description of information)
| Coal Reports - Production, ownership, years of operation, thickness.
|
| Directory of Illinois Coal Mines (Vermilion County) - Mine names, mine index, ownership, years of operation.
|
| Mine notes (Vermilion County) - Mine type, slope location, seam, depth, thickness, geologic problems.
|
| Company map, Coal Section files, 6-424 - Slope & shaft locations, mine outline, mining method, geologic problems.
|
Mine Notes
Mine Images
Photographs
Caption: Asolanus. A small, rare lycopsid tree. Widespread in coal age wetlands but never very abundant. The biology of Asolanus is not well known because it is so uncommon.
Caption: Asterophyllities equisetiformis. Leafy branches of a calamite tree. Note how the leaves themselves (which are thin and elongate) are arranged in whorls on the stems.
Caption: Bill DiMichele, caught in the act of wrapping a fossil sample in newspaper. By the end of the day, Bill will fill that backpack to the top! On Bill's left hip you can see the battery pack that powers his cap lamp.
Caption: Asterophyllities equisetiformis. Leafy branches of a calamite tree. Note how the leaves themselves (which are thin and elongate) are arranged in whorls on the stems.
Caption: Calamites pith cast. Note the nodes (lines around the stem) where leaves and leaf-bearing branches would have been attached. The picture on the right illustrates a long trunk segment that is thin throughout the preserved length.
Caption: Calamostachys, the spore-producing cone of a calamite tree. Note again, the whorled arrangement of the appendages.
Caption: Tree fern trunk. On this section of a tree fern trunk you can see the irregularly lined surface. These lines represent the roots that ran down and out from the trunk, both supporting the tree and transporting water to the upper parts of the stem and to the crown of large, frond-like leaves. In the upper right part of the trunk is a small oval mark. This is the scar from the point where a large leaf was attached. After death, the leaf would fall off, leaving a scar, as shown. (which would then get grown over by roots, as can be seen in this stem.)
Caption: Stem of Cordaites with an attached spray of long, relatively thin leaves at the end of the branch. (Just below the light colored piece of wood and roof bolt.)
Caption: Cordaites leaves, closer up. Again, these appear to be a tuft or spray at the end of a branch or trunk.
Caption: Diaphorodendron. Pictured here is a small branch from the crown of the tree. These appear to have been tall trees with highly branched crowns. The tiny diamond patterns seen on the stem are called "leaf cushions", the place at which leaves were attached to the stem when the plant was alive.
Caption: Howard, all dressed up and ready to go. In addition to Howard's hard hat, cap lamp, reflective gear, SCSR (self contained self rescuer), battery pack and rock hammer, he is also wearing metatarsal guard boots and pants cuff straps. Don't forget your backpack, gloves, and lunch Howard!
Caption: The landscape of East-Central Illinois on the surface above the coal mines where the fossil forest was found. You can see flat fields, corn and soybeans, a deciduous forest here and there... but no rainforest vegetation! We need to travel 250 feet underground to find our Pennsylvanian age rainforest vegetation.
Caption: From left to right - John Nelson from ISGS, Phil Ames from Peabody Energy, and Scott Elrick from ISGS discuss a series of geologic and geophysical logs.
Caption: Laveineopteris rarinervis. Uncommon
Caption: Lepidodendron. One of the best known of the lycopsid trees, Lepidodendron was one of the largest trees of the forest. The diamond patterns on its bark, like those of other lycopsid trees, were places where leaves where attached in life. Lepidodendron is more common in shales (originally muddy swamps) than in coal beds (originally peat-forming swamps or mires).
Caption: Leaves of giant lycopsid trees. These are typical leaves from the giant lycopsid trees. Such leaves are grass like, but could exceed 3 feet (1 m) in length. The densely covered the trunk and crown branches of the trees.
Caption: Neuropteris ovata.Neuropteris ovata. Common in parts of the mine and often forming dense mats of leaves.
Caption: Neuropteris ovata (close-up). Common in parts of the mine and often forming dense mats of leaves.
Caption: Plant fossils above the Herrin coal from an underground coal mine Possibly Odontopteris.Plant fossils above the Herrin coal from an underground coal mine Possibly Odontopteris. This form was rare and only found in fragmentary preservation.
Caption: Parts of the leaves (fronds) of tree ferns. These fossils are classified as Pecopteris. The frond of these plants was quite large, man feet (several meters) in length and was highly "divided". The small leaf-like structures seen on these fronds are the "pinnules", many of which were presenton a single leaf.
Caption: Calamite cones mixed with tree-fern stems or frond axes. The triangular object in the lower right of the photograph is broken piece from a "female" cone of a giant.
Caption: Fallen trunk section. A section of a large trunk has fallen from the roof and lies in the middle of the floor, to the right of the backpack. You can get a sense from this photograph what it is like to work in one of these mines. In the background, John Nelson and Howard Falcon-Lang are examining the roof for plant fossils. The sides of the "room" are the coal bed. Peabody Energy safety official walks along the left side of the passage.
Caption: Trunk of giant lycopsid, probably Lepidodendron. Lycopsid trees could get huge. In this photo, you see Howard Falcon-Lang (University of Bristol) and John Nelson (Illinois State Geological Survey) standing below a tree trunk lying just above the contact of the coal bed with the roof shale (of course, the coal has been mined out to reveal the roof!). Their raised hands mark the edges of the trunk. This trunk was more than 6 feet wide (nearly 2 m) and more than 120 feet long (over 30 m) and we did not see the crown! Who knows how much bigger it was in life.
Caption: Lepidophloios. Although not as well known as Lepidodendron, the tree known as Lepidophloios has been known to scientists since the 1800s. It too has diamond shaped leaf cushions, but note that they are wider than high and overlap like shingles on a roof. Lepidophloios does not seem to have been as large as Lepidodendron or Diaphorodendron, but it has the same growth form – an long trunk with a crown present only at the end of the trees life, associated with reproduction. It was the most important lycopsid tree in most coal age peat-forming forests and was rather rare in muddy swamps (preserved as shales).
Caption: Cone of a giant lycopsid tree. The spore bearing cones of the giant lycopsids could reach more than a foot (30 cm) in length. They were borne in abundance in the crown branches and often fell off (abscised in botanical terms) from the tree after the spores were released. This cone bore small "male" spores, very similar to pollen of seed plants.
Caption: Cone segment of the giant lycopsid tree. What are you looking at here? This is part of a "female" cone of one of the giant lycopsids, shown in a "cross section". The cone has been broken so that you are looking at it on-end. These kinds of cones bore "seed-like" structures – not really seeds, they functioned in a somewhat similar way, although fertilization probably took place in the water.
Caption: Pecopteris. A closer view of the pinnules of a tree-fern leaf.Pecopteris. A closer view of the pinnules of a tree-fern leaf.
Caption: A tangle of tree fern leaves and stems in the roof shale. The delicacy of these leaves and their excellent preservation indicates that they were not transported far, if at all, from the point at which they fell onto the floor of the swamp (perhaps into standing water) and were buried in mud.
Caption: John Nelson, in the mine and examining the coal "rib". In the "roof" you can see "roof bolts", which are used to stabilize the roof rock and keep it from collapsing into the area from which the coal has been removed. The roof rock and coal "rib" have been sprayed with limestone rock dust, used to help stop explosions from propagating in the mine. This is what causes many of the walls of the mine to appear white in color. It looks like John remembered his lunch.
Caption: Synchysidendron. Small branch from the crown and a part of the main trunk of yet another kind of giant lycopsid tree, Synchysidendron. Like the other kinds of lycopsid trees in the Riola forest, this one appears to have been large, pole-like for most of its growth, with a crown only near the end of tree life. You can see that although the diamond-shaped leaf cushions are higher-than-wide, they are quite plump and almost round in shape, a form characteristic of the several species in this genus.
Caption: Synchysidendron (close-up). Small branch from the crown and a part of the main trunk of yet another kind of giant lycopsid tree, Synchysidendron. Like the other kinds of lycopsid trees in the Riola forest, this one appears to have been large, pole-like for most of its growth, with a crown only near the end of tree life. You can see that although the diamond-shaped leaf cushions are higher-than-wide, they are quite plump and almost round in shape, a form characteristic of the several species in this genus.
Caption: Coal is found "underground". Here Howard Falcon-Lang (University of Bristol) and John Nelson (Illinois State Geological Survey) stand outside the mine headquarters before putting on their safety equipment and going through safety training, prior to entering the mine.
Caption: Sphenophyllum is a sphenopsid, the same higher-level group that includes the horsetails.
Caption: Sphenophyllum is a sphenopsid, the same higher-level group that includes the horsetails.
Caption: Sphenopteris, rare in the Riola mine. Sphenopteris is characterized by small fronds that have small, variously lobed pinnules.
Caption: First view of a giant lycopsid tree stump buried while still upright. The trunk projects up into the roof shale. This stump would have been "rooted" in the very top of the coal bed (other such stumps were found along the "rib" where they could be seen to be in contact with the top of the coal). Notice the geological hammer for scale. The plate at the base of the stump is a roof bolt, put in to hold the stump in place, so that it will not fall out.
Caption: Second view of a giant lycopsid tree stump buried while still upright. The trunk projects up into the roof shale. This stump would have been "rooted" in the very top of the coal bed (other such stumps were found along the "rib" where they could be seen to be in contact with the top of the coal). Notice the geological hammer for scale. The plate at the base of the stump is a roof bolt, put in to hold the stump in place, so that it will not fall out.
Caption: Scott Elrick, in a mine in Illinois, examining a few thin stringers of coal above the main coal seam. Part of the 'rib' or wall of the passageway has come down, allowing us to see the black and shiny nature of the coal seam and the dull dark gray of the roof shale normally hidden by the limestone rock dust.Scott Elrick, in a mine in Illinois, examining a few thin stringers of coal above the main coal seam. Part of the 'rib' or wall of the passageway has come down, allowing us to see the black and shiny nature of the coal seam and the dull dark gray of the roof shale normally hidden by the limestone rock dust.
Notes
![[[:Riola|Riola]]](https://wikiimage.isgs.illinois.edu/ilmines/vermilion/thumbnails/m1018_6_424b_2006_th.jpg)
