Abstract

Applying 3D GIS to Abandoned Mine Problems
Track: Mining and Geosciences
Authors: James Russell

Abandoned mines and their secondary subsidence effects are a significant problem in small communities with limited funds and resources. Personal safety and property safety are concerns to local planning departments, but little can be done when old, unknown workings become exposed in residential areas where underground mapping is either incomplete or not available to local agencies. Surface and subsurface data has been collected by US Geological Survey during and after the boom in mine development of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but much of this data has not been converted to digital form. Converting the subsurface historic mine data into 3D Geographic Information Systems (GIS) layers has proved quite useful in understanding the nature and extent of past mineral development beneath residential areas. This presentation describes the process involved in data conversion, the finished product, and how this information can be used by local governments.