# Presentation: 227027

## Mapping Underground

**Mined Areas in**
**West Virginia:**
**The Problem and the Approach**

***Nick Fedorko***

## West Virginia Office of

***In Cooperation With:***

***Doug Conaway, Director***

**West Virginia Office of**
**Miners’ Health, Safety, & Training**

***Charleston, West Virginia***

**Notes:**
The WV Geological and Economic Survey (WVGES) and WV Office of Miners’ Health, Safety, and Training (WVMHST) are working together on this problem.  WVGES is the mapping agency, while WVMHST has the statutory and regulatory responsibility for collection and archiving of mine maps.

## Coal Bed Mapping Project(CBMP) Goal

**Create a 1:24,000-scale Geographic Information System (GIS)-based inventory of coal in West Virginia.**

**Notes:**
The Coal Bed Mapping Project was started in 1995 for the purpose of remapping the economically significant coal beds in West Virginia utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.

## Coal Resource Maps in a GIS Environment

**Structural contour and outcrop maps**
**Variation in bed thickness**
**Total bed thickness**
**Net coal thickness**
**Percent non-coal material (partings) in bed**
**Depth of overburden**

**Notes:**
Coal Resource Maps in a GIS Environment
A GIS-based inventory of coal in West Virginia is simply traditional  types of coal  bed maps  in a digital format.  For each  coal bed we are creating :
* A  structural contour map: a vector and grid map depicting the variation of the elevation above sea level.
* The outcrop or surface trace.  The outcrop serves as a boundary of the areal extent of the coal bed.
*Four grid models depicting the variation of the total thickness, net coal thickness, percent parting, and depth of overburden.

**Mined areas**
**Underground**
**Surface**
**Auger**
**Highwall**
**Other supporting**** ****maps**

** **

**Notes:**
Coal Resource Maps in a GIS Environment (cont.)
*Compilation of the mined areas of each bed separated by mining method: underground, surface, auger, or highwall mining.
* Many other supporting maps.

## Compiling Underground Mined Areas

**Goal: Create as complete and accurate compilations of underground mined areas as possible**

**Notes:**
Compiling Underground Mined Areas
*A very important feature of the project, and the focus of the workshop, is the compilation of underground mined areas.  Our goal is to create as complete and accurate compilations as possible.
*Creating the other maps puts the mine maps in a geologic framework which greatly enhances the value and utility of the information.

## Coal Mining in WV

**Historic production: 1883-2002**
**Over 12.5 billion tons**
**Production from about 35 counties and about 65 beds**
**All pre-1940s production from underground mines**
**Estimated 100,000 abandoned underground mines**
**About 270 underground permits annually**
**100,600,258 tons in 2002 (61% of total)**

**Notes:**
The scope of the problem: coal mining in West Virginia.
*Although mining goes back further, commercial production and records date back to 1883.
*Over 12.5 billion tons of coal have been produced in WV from 1883 to 2002.
*Production has come from about 35 (of 55) counties and from about 65 beds.
*All production prior to the 1940s was from underground mines.
*There are an estimated 100,000 abandoned underground mines in WV.
*Underground mining production remains a major portion of WV production with about 270 active permits per year.
*In 2002, underground mines produced 100,600,258 tons, 61% of WV’s total.

## 40,894 WV cards

**40,894 WV cards**

**Pre-1970 Maps**

**Duplicates**

**Various Vintages**

**Various Scales**

**Partial Maps**

**Final Map?**

**OSM Mine Map Repository**

**37,432 mine maps**

**Notes:**
The Office of Surface Mining, Mine Map Repository
*The primary source of mine maps is the OSM Mine Map Repository.
*Both WVGES and WVMHST house the WV microfilm collection.
*The maps photographed by OSM are principally from WVMHST.
*There are nearly 41,000 aperture cards for WV.
*These represent over 37,000 individual mines.
*The collection can be divided into  pre- and post-1970 populations.
*The pre-1970 population has the following problems: duplicates, various vintages, various scales, many partial maps, uncertainty about final version, uncertainty about collection completeness.
*WVGES, WVMHST and others submit missing maps to OSM for inclusion in the collection.

## Post-1970 Maps

**Post-1970 Maps**

**Abandonment or Closure Map**

**OSM Mine Map Repository**

**Notes:**
The Office of Surface Mining, Mine Map Repository (cont.)
*The post-1970 collection is largely comprised of the abandonment or closure maps of mines.
* The post-1970 collection is much more complete due to the change in laws regarding preparation and submittal of mine maps.

## Maps of active mines from

**Maps of active mines from**
**Miners’ Health, Safety & Training**

**Notes:**
*WVMHST is the source for maps of active mines.

## Pittsburgh coal mining,

**Pittsburgh coal mining,**
**Fairmont West 7.5’**
**Quadrangle overlay**

**Notes:**
*The process of compiling underground mining in West Virginia started in the 1970s.  Then we reduced mine maps to 1:24,000 scale photographically, oriented each mine on a topographic map, and then traced the outlines onto an overlay for each quadrangle.
*Rather than scan these overlays, we have opted to use them as indices to the underground mine maps to scan and georeference in GIS.

## Slide 12

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps
*This is a typical older mine.  It’s in the Beckley coal in Beckley, Raleigh County, WV. 
*The mine map is scanned, either from an aperture card or paper.
*The image is rotated so the north arrow is up.
*The image is scaled to 1:24,000 using the scale bar or other annotated lines such as property or grid lines. 

## Slide 13

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*First we place the mine map image over the area on a 7.5-minute quadrangle in its approximate location.  The quad map already has real-world coordinates (UTM).
*Next we look for any geographic features, such as a rail lines, streams, roads, property lines, or others we can use to align the mine map with the 7.5-minute topographic map.
*Corresponding features between the mine map and the quad map are used as link points to move the mine map to its real-world position and thus acquire real-world coordinates.
*Note the fit between the rail line on both maps in this example.

## Slide 14

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*Once the geologist is satisfied with the overall georeferencing of the mine map, he or she digitizes around the edge of the mine workings on-screen, shown here in red.

## Slide 15

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*Looking closer, you can see that the heads-up digitizing doesn’t result in an exact mine outline.  Precision has to be balanced with productivity and tempered by the awareness of scale and inherent error.
*Finally, the aperture card number (document number) is added as an attribute of the polygon.  This number is used later to attach additional attributes to the polygon.

## Slide 16

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*This example from the No. 5 Block coal in Kanawha County illustrates the use of other geographic features, like oil and gas wells, as link points.
*The gas wells are outlined by concentric circles indicating the buffer zone for a planned mine pillar around each well.
*We also have roads, outcrop, and streams to work with.

## Slide 17

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*You can see some of the gas wells as well as the roads and streams on the topo maps.

## Slide 18

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*Note the alignment with the wells that do appear on both maps.
*Also note that the roads, outcrop, and streams do not fit perfectly everywhere across the image.  This is fairly typical with older maps.
*Generally we put more reliance on geologic clues like the outcrop lines, making sure they fit the topography, especially right in the area of the mines.

## Slide 19

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*The geologist has digitized around areas labeled as “old works”.
*Unfortunately, we may never find the detailed maps of these small mines, nor match them with company and mine names.
*The geologists digitize out beyond the outcrop line.  Later this will trimmed off with our outcrop and/or a surface mined area.
*Note also we did not digitize projected workings.

## Slide 20

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*Recently, WVMHST has been acquiring maps of active mines in the form of AutoCADD drawing files
*Many of these mines are surveyed in real-world coordinates, generally WV State Plane, and the coordinates are contained in the drawing file. 
*We can bring these files right into GIS and project the coordinates to UTM so the mine is now in its surveyed location. 

## Slide 21

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*In many cases the pieces of the outer boundary of the mine can then be copied from one or more of the AutoCADD drawing file layers, put into ArcGIS, and built into a polygon.

## Slide 22

**Notes:**
Georeferencing mine maps (cont.)
*The beauty of this process is that we now have an exact replica of the surveyed mine boundary.
*Sometimes the mine outline or pieces of the outline are scattered among numerous layers.  In this case heads-up digitizing is warranted.  Fortunately, ArcGIS recognizes the nodes in the drawing file and snaps to them, so it is still possible to create an exact replica of the mine outline.

## No. 2 Gas Coal, Raleigh County

**No. 2 Gas Coal, Raleigh County**

**Notes:**
Combining mining with the outcrop
*When all the mined areas are compiled, they are combined with the coal outcrop into one map or GIS coverage.
*The polygons are identified as to type of mining or as unmined coal.

## Underground Mine Attributes

**Underground Mine Attributes**

**Notes:**
Attributing underground mine polygons
*The underground mine map number (aperture card number) is used to cross over with the underground mine map database to add other attributes to each underground mine polygon such as mine name, company name, date of map, permit number, and others.  The screen image shown here is from our interactive map server web site. 
*At this time, the surface, auger, and highwall mine polygons are attributed only with the mining type, although, in a few cases, these mining types are attributed with an aperture card number to indicate the source document.

## Slide 25

**Notes:**
Problem: dealing with “cut off” mine workings
*Sometimes mine workings are cut off at the edge of the physical document like the mine workings coming down from the north on this map.
*We are always seeking the complete map, but may not find one.
*In this case, we have another complimentary feature map called the “extent unknown” lines.

## Slide 26

**Notes:**
Dealing with cut-off mine workings: extent unknown lines
*Once the polygons for underground, surface, auger, and highwall mines are combined with the outcrop for the bed, these cut off edges of underground mines are indicated with “extent unknown” lines.
*WVMHST is working with the industry to try and locate complete versions of these mine maps.

## Slide 27

**Notes:**
Problem: unlocatable maps
*Some mine maps have very poor or limited geographic clues as to the location.
*In this case we have only a north arrow and a little outcrop.
*The reported bed name, town, and county name can be helpful, but not always.
*Fortunately many of these unlocatable mines are small and probably inconsequential.
*WVMHST is working with the industry to locate these mines also.

## Slide 28

**Notes:**
Problem: missing maps
*Sometimes it is fairly obvious that maps are missing, as in this example.
*Surrounding maps indicate old works on their boundaries.
*Again, WVMHST is seeking copies of such maps.

## Slide 29

**Notes:**
Summary
*To date, we’ve worked on compiling underground mining in 37 different coal beds in 21 counties.  The footprints of all of these mines are shown above.
* Compilation is complete in 11 counties, and those counties are updated annually as we continue to work on the remaining areas in the state.

## Summary

**Creating a 1:24,000 scale index to underground mines in WV**
**Maintaining connection to detailed mine maps**
**Local planning or activity should be based on the detailed maps of mine workings**

**Notes:**
Summary (cont.)
*Such compilations are best thought of as indices to mine maps.
*It’s important to maintain the connection between the compilation and detailed maps of mine workings.
*Any local activity, such as new mine planning, should be based on the detailed maps of mine workings.

## Improvements

**Fill in partial maps, missing maps**
**Review for completeness**
**Make geo-referenced maps and all other maps available via the web**
**Tie in production records**
**Add people and resources to speed up process**

**Notes:**
Summary (cont.)
*WVGES and WVMHST are working together to improve the compilation of underground mines in WV.
*We would like to make the maps more readily available to users via the web.
*We would also like to add people and support to speed up the effort.

## Slide 32

**Notes:**
Summary (cont.)
*WVGES contact information.
Nick Fedorko
Head, Coal Program
fedorko@geosrv.wvnet.edu