National Mine Map Repository

NMMR logo

The National Mine Map Repository (NMMR) collects and maintains mine map information for the entire country. The NMMR acquires maps through public outreach with state and federal environmental agencies as well as mining companies, engineering and consulting firms, surveying companies, universities, and private citizens.

The facility stores data on more than 274,000 mines from throughout the United States. The mines have been either closed or abandoned and may be surface or underground mining operations. The repository's data dates from the 1790s to the present day. The maps are archived digitally and on microfilm (aperture cards). The database allows visitors to search through over 40 fields of information collected from the maps.

Images are available upon request. The NMMR team may be reached at nmmr@osmre.gov.

Access the NMMR Database System Here

Visit our new National Mine Map Repository Web Map! Featuring direct map download (pilot program).

Mine map images will continue to be available by request.

Simply submit a request or email the team for help.

Changes to our scanner line-up. We're retiring our oldest scanner, nicknamedTom. We will continue to scan maps with our other equipment. Learn more in the below equipment section.

Photos of the team using the scanner through the years.

Visit the OSMRE Newsroom to hear a Mine Map story: A Bright Spot in a Dark History.

In 1969, an act of Congress established the need for a national mine map repository. The repository was to be funded and assigned to the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Mines (BOM) in 1970. A repository was set up at a BOM office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that covered all states east of the Mississippi River with the exception of Louisiana and Minnesota. Those two states, together with most states west of the Mississippi River, were covered by a repository at the BOM Intermountain Field Operation Center in Denver, Colorado. Northwest states were covered by the BOM office in Spokane, WA.

In 1982, the responsibility for the repository and its staff was formally transferred to DOI's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE). Later, when BOM was dissolved in 1996, the maps from each BOM office were consolidated into two OSMRE repositories: one each in the cities of Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Wilkes-Barre Repository solely covered the anthracite coal region of northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2011, the Wilkes-Barre Mine Map Repository closed. The entirety of the National Mine Map Repository's collection now resides in the Green Tree (Pittsburgh), PA office.

From the beginning, the mission of the repository has been to obtain authoritative maps of completed mining operations and preserve them for future generations. High priority is given to maps of mines in areas where the potential for adverse impact to the environment is most significant. The NMMR, in addition to being an archival entity concerned with the preservation of mine maps, is a storehouse of information on mines. The NMMR index system is a database of mining-related information. It is a valuable resource for identifying mineral and energy reserves and for addressing mining-related environmental issues. The information is made available to Federal and state geological surveys, state mining bureaus, mining companies, oil and gas companies, conservationists, research and planning organizations, water pollution boards, city and industrial planners, highway engineers, building contractors and real estate developers, and private citizens.

Today the NMMR is a modern high-tech facility with leading-edge map scanning and archiving capabilities and SQL data index. As of January 15, 2025, the primary archive contains over 318,000 .tiff images and resides on over 31 TB of storage space.

The NMMR provides services ranging from retrieving mine-related data for economic analysis to determining the potential risk associated with underground mining. The NMMR does not provide assessments, though its data may aid public and private clients in doing so. The expert staff of geologists, geographers, and program specialists are available to aid any clients in understanding the maps and their notations.

An old mine map rolled up on a desk.

The oldest mine recorded at the repository is the Old Mine from 1792.

Through analysis of mine maps and related information, the repository assists private and public sectors in industrial and commercial development, highway construction, and the preservation of public health, safety, and welfare. In addition, we collect, reproduce, and maintain a national inventory of mine maps and supporting documentation for private and public interests.

The NMMR contains digital and microfilm maps of surface and underground coal, metal, and non-metal mines throughout the United States. Some of the information that can be found in the repository includes:

Mine and company names.
Underground mine plans including mains, rooms, and pillars.
Closure maps.
Adjacent mines.
Man-ways, shafts, mine surface openings, barrier pillars, and ventilation facilities.
Geologic information like bed name, bed thickness, depth, drill-hole data, cross-sections, elevation contours, structures, and outcrops.
Geographic data including abandoned railroad lines and stations, coal towns, surface facilities, roads, ponds, streams, and property survey points.
Districts, townships, sections, ranges, counties and municipalities, latitudes and longitudes, elevation benchmarks, surface elevations, gas, oil wells, and drill-hole locations.

The NMMR continues to work towards a more accessible, spatial database by digitizing, geo-referencing, and making the map images available on the cloud for public download. Currently, maps may be individually requested and will be provided to clients through linked downloads or on jump drives.

The following is an example of some of NMMR clients and their mapping needs.

Private Citizens/Homeowners: Inquire about past mining activity underlying their residence/community to access potential property hazard information related to past coal mining. They may also request information about mine subsidence insurance. There is no charge to private citizens and homeowners for the services of the NMMR.
Consultants: Identify specific project areas and request information on various mine seams, mine depth, extent of mine, closure dates, detailed maps of mine workings, and mine operators to use as a basic source of geological and engineering data.
Government Agencies: Request for information on subsidence, abandoned mine drainage, mine fires and rescue operations, for highway and bridge construction, or public display at municipal buildings or town meetings. The information may also be requested to conduct health and safety activities and remediation.
Developers and Contractors: Request mine maps to determine the extent of mine workings and mine depth for pre-construction. They require information on coverage over mines to determine a need for support structures or to assist in making decisions relative to land use, foundation design, etc.
Architects: Utilize mine map information in their design of structures. The information is necessary for decisions on the types of foundations and weight displacements.
Realtors: Request information on abandoned mines within a given municipality. Their primary concern is to identify the distance of mines that underlie individual homes and whether information on mine subsidence insurance is necessary.
Mining Companies: Utilize mine maps to prepare mine permit applications for new or existing mines and may request mine map copies for further evaluations.