MSHA Mine Addresses of Record for Active and Abandoned Mines

Address records for all mines in the MSHA database, excluding abandoned mines prior to 1998. The data is updated by MSHA district offices and uses the mine id as a unique key. It includes addresses for Abandoned Mines and Abandoned and Sealed Mines, which are not necessarily the actual mine locations.

Use Cases

• Link mine addresses to operational status using the Mine Status and Mine Type tags for regulatory compliance analysis.
• Geocode addresses for spatial analysis by joining on fields like Street, City, State, and Zip Code.
• Analyze the distribution of mines by State and City using the address of record data.
• Track address update patterns by correlating the last updated timestamp with mine status changes.

Strengths

• Data is maintained and updated by official MSHA district offices, ensuring an authoritative source.
• Includes a unique identifier (Mine Id) for reliable record linkage.
• Covers multiple mine statuses, including Abandoned and Abandoned and Sealed Mines.

Limitations

• Addresses are 'of record' and may not represent the actual physical mine location, especially for abandoned sites.
• Excludes abandoned mines prior to 1998, creating a historical data gap.
• Specific data volume metrics like row count, column count, and file size are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

Collection Method

Addresses entered by mine operators on Legal ID forms and subsequently updated by MSHA district offices.

Time Range

Covers records from at least 1998 onward for abandoned mines; full temporal range is unspecified.

Freshness

Last updated metadata indicates 2026-01-20, suggesting regular maintenance.

Geography

United States, inferred from the involvement of the U.S. Department of Labor and MSHA.