Central Utah Coal Fields
by H. H. Doeling
(Utah Geologic and Mineral Survey, 1972)
This page was last updated on October 19, 2007.
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Scofield NW Quadrangle (pages 217-224)
Mines and Development
The list of mines opened on the Scofield NW quadrangle was gleaned from several sources and locations were derived without field checking. Many older mines were incorporated in the later and larger mines. New owners often changed names and confusion resulted; names in parentheses indicate name changes. Little is known about production history for the Amber and Blue Seal mines. Spieker (1931, p. 97) reported on the Clear Creek mines, one of the more important group of mines in the Pleasant Valley area:
Nos. 1 and 2 mines are on the Castlegate "A" coal bed and are separated by a fault. No. 2 extends south of the main opening, and No. 1, the south end of which is east of No.2, extends both north and south of the main opening ... Mine No. 1 is limited on the east by a fault zone through which a rock tunnel has been driven to the coal on the east side of the ridge, and east of the fault zone two mines have been established, one on the Castlegate "A" bed and the other on the main bed of the Bob Wright group.
The mines started producing in 1899 and continued operations for 68 years when the mines were abandoned. Coal was mined in seams ranging from 7 to 14 feet thick producing 14,196,000 tons.
The Colombine mine began operations in 1960 and is presently active (1970); it may be the same as the older McAlpine mine or Olsen mine. The McAlpine operated from 1946 to 1960. Sixty-nine thousand tons of production are assigned to the Colombine mine.
The Eagle mine was probably active intermittently between 1923 and 1941. From four openings in the Castlegate "A" seam, it reportedly produced 116,000 tons of coal. It was later connected with the O'Connor mine.
Little is known about the Eccles Canyon mine or the Fish Creek mine supposedly located in Woods Canyon; Fish Creek mine may lie farther north. Production figures are incomplete but estimated to be small.
Spieker mentioned the Gibson mine opened in 1922 but little else is known about it. The Jones mine near the Colombine probably operated on the U. P. bed. The old Kimball mine on the west side of the valley was a wagon mine that yielded considerable coal (Spieker, 1931, p. 95); it had three openings. Most of Spieker's field work occurred in 1923.
The Kinney mine is located between the Blue Seal and Colombine mines; it operated between 1920 to 1926 producing 687,000 tons of coal probably on the Castlegate "A" bed. The mine was probably reopened as the Monay mine in 1946 and produced an additional 63,000 tons.
Production figures from the O'Connor mine (1956 to 1967) are incorporated with the Clear Creek mines. The Scofield mine, better known as the Union Pacific mine, was one of the more successful mines of Pleasant Valley area. It was intermittently active from 1884 to 1936 in coal to 30 feet thick. A lower mine operated on the thick U. P. bed and an upper mine probably on the Castlegate "A". Total production is estimated just short of 2 million tons.
The Utah mine is located between the Union Pacific and the Clear Creek mines on the east side of the valley. Spieker (1931, p. 96) calls it the oldest mine in the district but the main period of activity is believed to have been between 1910 and 1925. It operated on the Castlegate "A" and produced 713 ,800 tons.
One of the earliest large groups of mines is the Winter Quarters mines active from 1878 into the 1940's. Numerous faults and dikes were encountered. One igneous dike in a mine is more than 100 feet wide. Many of the faults cannot be detected on the surface. The mine has at least six openings; total production is estimated to have been 10.8 million tons.
Little is known about the remaining mines, most of which were opened prior to 1900. Their small production should not appreciably affect the total amount for the quadrangle. Total production from portals opening on the quadrangle is believed between 27.0 and 29.6 million tons.
The following is taken in-part from "Central Utah Coal Fields" by H. H. Doeling.
| Mine | Remarks |
| Amber | Active in 1877 |
| Black Oaks | Active in 1898 |
| Blue Seal (Utah-Wyoming) |
Intermmittenly from 1921 through 1940s |
| Clear Creek No. 1, 2, 3, 4 (Pleasant Vlley Coal Co., Utah Fuel Co., Independent Coal and Coke Co. North American Coal Corp. |
|
| Columbine (Standard-Columbine, McAlpine, Olsen, Carbon Fuel, Spring Creek, Rio Grande Colombo) |
|
| Eagle (Jones) |
Intermittenly from 1923 through 1941 |
| Eccles Canyon (Crandall) |
Intermittenly from 1899 through 1952 |
| Fish Creek (Wood Canyon) |
Active 1908-1910 |
| Gibson | Opened in 1922, abandoned by 1970 |
| Jones | Abandoned |
| Kimball | Active 1885 to 1900 |
| Kinney (Monay) |
Active 1920-1926, again in 1946-1956 |
| Lewellyn | Mud Creek, active 1897-1898 |
| O'Connor (Black Diamond) |
Active 1956-1967 |
| Scofield (Pleasant Valley, Union Pacific) |
Intermittenly from 1884 through 1936 |
| Utah (Utah Central, Mud Creek) |
Oldest mine in area, main activity in 1910 through 1925 |
| Utah Collieries (Smith and Nelson) |
Active 1909-1910 |
| Weeks | Active 1877 |
| Williams | Active 1897 |
| Winter Quarters No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | No. 1 active 1878-1895; No. 2 active 1896-1940s |
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