Reflection Seismic Mapping Of An Abandoned Coal Mine, Belleville, Illinois

Old mine location maps (1958 vintage) indicate that the northwestern part of an undeveloped property near the town of<br>Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois, is situated above an abandoned and now water-filled, room-and-pillar type coal mine.<br>The central and southeast parts of the Belleville property are shown as overlying intact (non-mined) coal. The coal unit<br>mined at the Belleville site, the Herrin #6 is Pennsylvanian in age and about 2.5 m thick at a depth of around 40 m.<br>The current owners of the BelleviIle property want to construct a large building on the central and southeast parts of the site,<br>but have been concerned about the accuracy of the old mine location maps because of recent mine-related surface subsidence<br>in areas designated on the maps as not mined. To ensure that the proposed new development is located on structurally stable<br>ground, a grid of ten high-resolution reflection seismic lines was acquired on-site. On these reflection seismic data, minedout<br>areas can be visually identitied and d&rentiated Tom non-mined areas. The interpretation of the reflection seismic data<br>was constrained and validated by 15 test boreholes. These seismic and borehole data confirm that the central and southeast<br>parts of the property have not been mined extensively. Development of the Belleville site has proceeded with confidence.