Project Overview & Statistics

Listen to an overview of the project: New Information From Old Mine Maps aired Aug 5, 2009

CONSOL Energy Inc. began placing mine map materials at the Archives of the University of Pittsburgh in 1991. The collection has grown with additional deposits of material to include over 8,000 individual map sheets relating to mines once operated by the CONSOL Energy subsidiary Consolidation Coal Company.  The collection dates from 1854 to 2002, with the bulk dating from 1880 to 1940.            The project focuses on a subset of the collection, approximately 700 “hardback” maps.  The term "hardback" refers to the map’s construction of heavyweight paper and canvas backing.  The oversized dimensions of the maps (5 ft. tall and 10-30 ft. long) present challenges in use and preservation.  The hardback maps served as master copies and often contain the most complete (if not only) diagram of underground mines owned and/or operated by Consolidated Coal Company and its constituents in the counties of Allegheny, Westmoreland, Washington, Greene, Fayette, and Somerset.             The project is supported by a partnership in funding among the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (PA-DEP), the U.S. Dept. of the Interior Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), the University Library System (ULS) at the University of Pittsburgh and CONSOL Energy.  The hardback maps are surveyed, cleaned and repaired at the ULS Preservation Dept.  Once stabilized, the maps are transported to the OSMRE National Mine Map Repository (NMMR) where they are cataloged and digitized.  The digital images are transferred to the PA-DEP California District Office for georeferencing and use in GIS applications.  Lastly, the physical maps return to the University of Pittsburgh for long-term archival storage.  The ULS Preservation Dept. began stabilizing maps for scanning in June, 2007.

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Project Statistics (2/1/2010)
Maps Surveyed	397
Maps Dry Cleaned	220
Maps Humidified & Flattened	62
Maps Mended	66
Tape Removed & Adhesive Reduced	34
Maps Scanned	214

Maps digitized by the PA-DEP Technical Services Unit as of Jan. 1, 2009.