De Soto Quadrangle

Mining in the De Soto Quadrangle

Mining in the De Soto Quadrangle began in 1881 with the opening of the Inland Mine (mine index 2481) and ended when the Cambria Mine ([[1027}mine index 1027]]) closed in 2004. The Herrin Coal was the most commonly mined seam, because it was thick, ranging up to 14 feet thick in places, and shallow, sometimes as little as 25 feet beneath the surface. The Herrin Coal was commonly 8 to 10 feet thick, allowing mines with poor roof conditions to leave up to 2 feet of top coal to support the roof. In some cases, areas of the mines had poor quality coal, so that the thicker coal was not all minable. In parts of the Ward Mine (mine index 267), the top coal was poor quality, and the blue band was 11 to 13 inches of dirty coal (high ash content), so that only the middle 4.5 to 5 feet of the total 8 to 9 feet thick seam was mined. Some surface mines took advantage of the small interval between the Herrin and Springfield Coals (often as little as 25 to 30 feet) to mine both seams. The Springfield Coal was thinner than the Herrin Coal, generally 3.5 to 4 feet thick. Because the Springfield Coal was usually less than 5 feet thick, it was more often surface-mined than developed in underground mines. The Murphysboro Coal was also mined, exclusively in the southern half of the quadrangle.