The capability to download maps is currently limited FINAL maps and those maps 2004 and greater. If you are in the need of a map older than 2004, please email your request to EEC.KORA@ky.gov . Be sure to include as much detail as possible about the records you are seeking. In the event of any questions regarding your request, please include a contact name and number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Use the Interactive Maps bar. Choose a county or quad in the Available Mine Maps box. You can then use the zoom (+) to focus on the area of interest. Choose either method below.

Switch to the "i" tool and click in the chosen area of the screen. A scrollable list of Active and Abandoned mines will appear below the map along with each State File Number (SFN) and a link to the available maps. SFNs are needed for any map download and essentially the key to getting the information sought.

Expand the Scanned Mine Maps folder in the Layers list at the top left. Check the Active Mines layer and uncheck the Abandoned Mines layer. The resulting view will display active mines only.

Use the Mine/Map Search bar. Enter the State File Number and click the Submit Query button. Choose List and then select the image to download by clicking Download under the Master Image or GeoTiff Image columns. The JPG is the scan of the map, while the TIF is the georeferenced map.

Use the Mine Search bar. Enter the DMRE permit number and Submit Query. Choose Mine Report. The resultant report gives information such as State File Number, mine status, company name, coal seams, mine type, county, nearest town, stream, branch, license number, operator and more. From here you can view the interactive map or retrieve a list for download.

NOTE: This is the method to use if you know any of the following: SFN, MSHA ID, company name, mine name, operator, nearest town, stream, county or coal seam name. Entering SFN, MSHA ID, or DMRE permit number will return a unique mine, while the other items may yield several mines from which to choose.

The scanned map is simply a raw scan of the paper map. The georeferenced map has been processed using GIS software to determine its location on the earth relative to other geographical datasets. This image can then be "layered" with other geospatial data, such as topo maps, MRPs and digital ortho imagery. Use the Links bar for access to these and a host of other datasets.

Choose either method below.
  • Use the Interactive Maps bar. Select a county or quad in the Known Mined Out Areas section. In the Layers (top left), there are folders for both Eastern and Western Coal seams. Expand the appropriate folder. The coal seams are listed with a colored box and a 3-digit number (seam215). The colors correlate to the polygons on the map. You can use the 3-digit code to look up the common name for seam in the Coal Seam Listing option on the home page. (NOTE: The seam numbers and elevations are inversely related; i.e., as the seam numbers decrease, the elevations increase).
  • Use the Mine Report bar. Enter search criteria. The Mine Report for specific SFN contains the seam(s) information in the header area.

The download process now requires the use of an e-mail account for delivery of the map information summary and a link for downloading the requested map. This process has been adopted because very few mine maps are actually available on the FTP server at any given time. Most map downloads are packaged at the time of the actual request and any map package that hasn't been requested in over seven days is automatically deleted from the FTP server. This approach allows us to serve up several hundred gigabytes of map data while using less than 25 gigabytes of FTP data storage.

Each time a map is requested the web service checks to see if a pre-packaged version of the request is currently available on the FTP server. If the map package is available then the map summary and download link is immediately sent to the specified e-mail address and a 'Download Now' link is provided on the web page announcing that the map request is being processed. You can click on the download link on the web page to initiate the download process at that time (you will still get an e-mail).

If the map package is not available then the web service queues up the automated packaging process and the map notification e-mail is sent out when the package is ready on the FTP server. Most map packages are processed within a few minutes of the request. If you do not want to wait for the e-mail notification to make it through the internet then you can click on the 'Check Download Availability' button and the web page will check for download availability every two seconds until the requested map has been packaged. Once the map download is ready you will be presented with the 'Download Now' link.