Librarian
University Park PA 16802
General Information
Historic Statistics of Pennsylvania's Mineral Industries
Annual Reports on Mining Activities (PA)
Published since the 1870's this report contains production statistics, mine names, locations, owner information, and accident statistics. Prior to the mid-1880's the reports for anthracite and bituminous coal were produced by separate agencies, therefore early reports for bituminous coal are available as part III "Industrial Statistics" of the Annual Report of the Bureau of Statistics of Pennsylvania, later the Annual Report of the Secretary of Internal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Industrial minerals were included in these reports beginning with 1973.
| Year | Title | Call Number |
|---|---|---|
| 1870's-1930's | Report of the Department of Mines of Pennsylvania | HD9547.P4A33 |
| 1931-1968 |
Annual Report. PA Anthracite Division |
HD9547.P4A34 |
| 1931-1955 | Annual Report. PA Bituminous Coal Division | HD9547.P4A35 |
| 1969-1978 | Annual report on mining, oil and gas, and land reclamation and conservation activities | HD9547.P4A36 |
| 1979-present | Annual Report on Mining Activities | HD9547.P4A3601 |
For historic data, consult Pennsylvania's Mineral Heritage (for print holdings see our catalog), which contains information and useful statistics by commodity and by county through 1941.
Another report "Pennsylvania Minerals" was issued in 1955, a report of a joint commission, which covers the period from approximately 1943-1953. The presentation of the report to the legislature appeared in the Pennsylvania Legislative Journal in 1955 (appendix p.9797-9542).
For information about mining activities prior to 1870, sources are limited. I suggest consulting the following:
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County and Local Histories (PA)(Library guide)
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Coal, Iron, and Oil; or the Practical American MinerSamual H. Daddow and Benjamin Bannan. 1866.
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Coal Regions of America.By James Macfarlane (1873)
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Abandoned Mine Reclamation Clearinghouse (AMRC)The AMRC provides information about remediation of old mining sites and contains some background on historic mining activities.
Mine Locations and Mine Maps
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Pennsylvania Historic Underground Mine Map Inventory SystemCollection of mine map images, searchable by county, municipality, mine name, quadrangle name, company name and other parameters.
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Pennsylvania Mine Subsidence ProgramThis site links to township maps illustrating extent of undermined areas.
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PA Department of Environmental Protection - Mine map repositories
There are two main repositories of original mine maps. The Pottsville location houses primarily anthracite mine maps; the New Stanton office houses bituminous mine maps. The Pennsylvania Geological Survey also houses microfilmed copies of some PA mine maps. (addresses follow) -
National Mine Map RepositoryAn index to maps of abandoned mines in the United States. There is an option to search using a geographic interface and users can request map images.
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Mine Data Retrieval System databasehas information on both active and inactive mines for the United States. The database is searchable by location, mine name, mine operator, commodity, and other parameters.
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Minerals Information serviceThe USGS reports state-level data, some of which is provided in Excel format. Also useful is a simple map showing the location of commodity mining by county.
