Tamaroa Quadrangle

Mining in the Tamaroa Quadrangle

The Herrin Coal was mined in the Tamaroa Quadrangle, commonly having a thickness over 6 feet. The roof material was most often black shale or limestone, sometimes with lenses of Energy Shale. Rolls were common, and coal balls were seen in most of the mines in this area. A large area of the Tamaroa Quadrangle is unmined. The most important factor behind this is the Walshville Channel, which was contemporaneous with deposition of the Herrin Coal, and therefore the coal-forming materials were not deposited. The Walshville Channel stopped westward expansion of the Orient No. 3 Mine (mine index 0690). Parts of the channel are over 2 miles wide, and the coal may be missing in local washouts that are not directly in the path of the Walshville Channel. Other associated problems occur near the channel, such as abrupt thinning of the coal and adverse roof conditions.

The Bois Mine (mine index 0320) was an anachronism in the 1950s, operating without electricity. The miners worked with open-flame carbide lamps and the coal was hauled to the shaft bottom by mules. This was the oldest operating mine in the state through much of the last half of its operating span.