Abandoned Mines

[Updates below]

For NJ County maps and specific mine info, see this link.

According to the NJ Geological Survey:

The mining industry of New Jersey dates back to the 1600’s when copper was first mined by Dutch settlers along the Delaware River in Warren County.  One of the first iron mines in the United States was located, around 1710, in the Mt. Hope section of Rockaway Township, Morris County. There are approximtely 450 underground mines in New Jersey, all of which are now abandoned.  In many cases, very little information was compiled regarding the mines. The New Jersey Geological Survey (NJGS) has scanned the mine maps in its collection and acquired other maps making them available for download as Adobe PDF documents. The maps in this collection are from mines in the northern half of the state in 8 of the 10 counties where all of the underground mining activities in New Jersey took place. The counties represented in this collection are Sussex, Warren, Morris, Bergen, Hunterdon, Passaic, Middlesex and Somerset. There are no maps from Essex and Union Counties in this collection. Mine maps can be important in the remediation of any subsidence or collapse events, pollution tracking and remediation, historical research, land development and open space purchases.

Digital Geodata Series DGS05-1 (Hit Link)
Selected Sand, Gravel and Rock Surficial Mining Operations in New Jersey

Abstract

This Geographic Information System (GIS) point shapefile with associated database file and metadata contains point locations, products mined, geologic formation and other attributes of selected sand, gravel and rock surficial mining operations in New Jersey. The database contains 1,031 inventoried operations with 172 being registered with the New Jersey Department of Labor, Office of Mine Safety and Compliance. Some have multiple permits so there are a total of 167 operational sites and 864 inactive and abandoned surficial mining operations. One hundred ninety three of the mining operations were located using the Global Positioning System (GPS). With annual production of up to 20 million tons valued at $100 million, sand, gravel and rock mining is a significant industry in New Jersey. Inactive and abandoned operations are included because of their importance in environmental investigations, planning, zoning and resource evaluation.

[Update 1: 4/8/11 – well well, what do you know! DEP GETS FEMA GRANT TO ASSESS ABANDONED MINES

[Update 2 : 4/28/11 – Bergen Record– DEP gets federal funds to locate abandon mines, mine shafts