Mining
and Minerals Division
1220 South St. Francis Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87505
P: (505) 476-3400
F: (505) 476-3402
Abandoned Mine Land Program
Open mine shaft
Construction over the shaft
Safeguarded mine shaft
It is estimated that there are over 15,000 abandoned mine features in the State of New Mexico. They range from shallow prospect pits to 500 feet deep mine shafts to piles of coal gob (mine waste).
The New Mexico Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Program and certain other abandoned mine land programs throughout the nation were formed by the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) on May 2, 1977 (amended in 2006). This law places a fee on active coal mines that varies depending on whether it is surface mined coal or underground mined coal. These monies are placed in a fund called the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. This fund is used to reclaim coal mines abandoned prior to the enactment of SMCRA. Under certain conditions, abandoned non-coal mines may also be reclaimed.
The links to the right provide more information about the program.
