Last Friday, the Obama Administration announced that there will be a three year moratorium on authorizing leases for coal mining on federal land. The decision is in the wake of both environmental and pricing concerns around coal leases. The BLM has been constantly scrutinized for its pricing of public land leases with concern that artificially low prices destabilize the market…
Black Diamond Mines
California may not be the first state that comes to mind when contemplating coal mining, yet coal was a critical energy resource for the fledgling state. The Mount Diablo Coalfield in California’s east bay produced over four million tons of coal between 1850 and 1906. Today, it is a 6,000-acre park encompassing 5 ghost towns and twelve closed coal mines. Before rail spanned…
Dunlap Coke Ovens
Deep in the Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee is a collection of industrial coke ovens from the turn of the 20th century. History Coke ovens were used to convert the coal mined in nearby Fredonia Mountain into industrial coke used in smelting iron ore. The Industrial Revolution and the steel industry drove a demand for pig iron; and coke was an integral…
Marion County Coal Miners Museum
The Marion County Coal Miners Museum is a small, two room structure nestled in Sequatchie Valley of Eastern Tennessee. The museum is a passion project launched by seven local, retired coal miners who have collected artifacts to preserve the history of the coal industry in Marion County. The History Tennessee has had a long industrial history of coal mining. It began in small quantities…
Exhibition Coal Mine
Exhibition Coal Mine Museum is nestled in the West Virginian town of Beckley, along the beautiful New River Park. The museum is part of an impressive compound of historic structures and artifacts tracing the history of the coal industry in West Virginia. Visitors can explore coal mining history in exhibits of mining equipment, a guided mine tour, and restored historic structures relocated from company…
Portal 31
Kentucky’s First Exhibition Coal Mine A trip to the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum would be incomplete without a visit to Portal 31. Only a couple miles drive away, visitors can travel into the early days of coal mining and experience the evolution of the industry in a series of vignettes staged throughout a ride in Portal 31. Like neighboring Benham, Lynch…
Kentucky Coal Mining Museum
Nestled among the Appalachian Mountains is a testament to one of the region’s core industries. The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum houses four floors of artifacts, dioramas, and other displays covering coal mining in eastern Kentucky, the men and women whose lives were effected, and the rich culture that has emerged from it. Two Towns The museum focuses on coal mining…
Understanding Maps
The time has come for a over of our mapping services to clear the way for further development of handy tools for our users. As such, this month we have rolled out a new map format to better allow our users to quickly peruse coal mining leases by disposition. In order to keep the maps as clutter free as possibly,…
Understanding Coal Lease Ownership
We receive lots of emails from people who find their name or a relative’s name on our site and want to know if this means they have some right to the land listed under that name. The short answer is, “if you have to ask, then probably not” but the complete answer deserves the time and attention that is best…
Understanding BLM Administrative Areas
We have added a new way to browse and explore claims: by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Administrative Area. To give context to this new feature, we wrote this handy explanation. Summary Nearly a quarter of a billion acres – about one-eighth of the landmass of the USA – is administered by the BLM. These public lands & resources contributed…