Abandoned Mines in Iowa

2,756Abandoned & Historical

Abandoned Mining in Iowa

Federal databases record 2,756 abandoned, sealed, and historically closed mine locations in Iowa. These include mines officially abandoned under MSHA oversight and past producers documented in the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. Abandoned mines are a legacy of centuries of mineral extraction and can pose ongoing environmental and safety concerns for nearby communities.

Safety Warning: Abandoned mines are extremely dangerous. Hazards include cave-ins, toxic gases, flooded shafts, unstable ground, and hidden vertical drops. Never enter an abandoned mine. Many are on private property. If you discover an unsecured abandoned mine, report it to your state mining agency.

Top Counties

County	Abandoned/Historical
Sioux County	104
Plymouth County	88
O'Brien County	87
Lyon County	81
Clayton County	80
Dubuque County	73
Winneshiek County	71
Cherokee County	69
Clay County	63
Linn County	63
Webster County	62
Delaware County	61
Dickinson County	53
Cerro Gordo County	51
Black Hawk County	49
Dallas County	45
Kossuth County	45
Polk County	45
Allamakee County	44
Fayette County	44

Abandoned Mine Sites

Mine	County	Commodity	Status	Source
Plant #1	Sac	Construction Sand and Gravel	Abandoned	MSHA
#1	Plymouth	Construction Sand and Gravel	Abandoned	MSHA
Ackerman	Lyon	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Adams Pit	Crawford	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Adams-Watterson Quarry	Ringgold	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Afton Pit	Union	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Afton-Lacena Pit	Union	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Ahart Pit	Hamilton	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Ahrens Pit	Boone	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Airport Pit	Cerro Gordo	Construction Sand and Gravel	Abandoned	MSHA
Akron Shop	Plymouth	Sand, Industrial NEC	Abandoned	MSHA
Albright Quarry	Adair	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Alden Portable Plant #1	Hardin	Crushed, Broken Limestone NEC	Abandoned	MSHA
Alden Shop	Hardin	Construction Sand and Gravel	Abandoned	MSHA
Algona Pesicka Pit	Kossuth	Construction Sand and Gravel	Abandoned	MSHA
Alice Quarry	Linn	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Allen Quarry	Delaware	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Alpha Pit	Fayette	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Alteneder Quarry	Muscatine	Flagstone	Past Producer	MRDS
Alvin Cater Quarry	Keokuk	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Amana Sandstone Quarries	Iowa	Flagstone	Past Producer	MRDS
American Coals Corp	Marion	Coal (Bituminous)	Abandoned	MSHA
Amosson Pit	Wright	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Anamosa Mines	Jones	Lead, Zinc	Past Producer	MRDS
Anderson Pit	Audubon	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Anderson Pit	Plymouth	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Anderson Pit	Winneshiek	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Anderson Quarry	Clayton	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Anderson Quarry	Jefferson	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Anderson Quarry	Winneshiek	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Anderson Quarry	Van Buren	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Andrew Quarry	Jackson	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Andrews Quarry	Cerro Gordo	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Anthon Pit	Woodbury	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Appleton Pit	O'Brien	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Archie Harding Quarry	Mahaska	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Argyle Pit	Lee	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Argyle Quarry	Lee	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Arion Pit	Crawford	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Armstrong Pit	Greene	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Army Corps of Engineers Sand Pits	Marion	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Arnold Pit	Delaware	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Arnsdorf	Dubuque	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Asbury Quarry	Dubuque	Dimension Limestone	Abandoned	MSHA
Ash Quarry	Marshall	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Ashby Quarry	Fayette	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Ashton Pit	Osceola	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Atalissa Pit	Muscatine	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Atalissa Pit	Muscatine	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Atalissa Quarry	Cedar	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Atlantic Pit	Cass	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Atlantic Pit	Cass	Construction Sand and Gravel	Abandoned	MSHA
Atlantic Shop	Cass	Crushed, Broken Limestone NEC	Abandoned	MSHA
Audrie	O'Brien	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Augusta Quarry	Lee	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Aungst Brothers Quarry	Benton	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Aurelia Pit	Buena Vista	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Austin Pit	Hancock	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
B Vanderschaff	Lyon	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
B and M Quarry	Wapello	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bean-Visser Pit	Marion	Construction Sand and Gravel	Abandoned	MSHA
Backbone Quarries	Madison	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bahl Pit	Dickinson	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Bahl Quarry	Delaware	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bailey Pit	Calhoun	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Bain Pit	Henry	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Bainbridge	Plymouth	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Bainbridge Pit	Cherokee	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Baird Pit	Linn	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Baldosier Quarry	Jefferson	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Baldwin Mines	Jackson	Lead	Past Producer	MRDS
Baldwin Pit	Greene	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Ballantine Pit	Crawford	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Barbers Quarry	Clinton	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Barlow Quarry	Page	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bartlett Pit	Fremont	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Bartlett Quarry	Mills	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bartosh Pit	Kossuth	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Basselor Pit	Kossuth	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Bassett Pit	Fayette	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Bauer Quarry	Howard	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bay/strattmann/paullina Pits	O'Brien	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Beach Quarry	Des Moines	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Beach Quarry	Lee	Crushed, Broken Limestone NEC	Abandoned	MSHA
Beadle Mine, Dubuque and L Superior Mine	Dubuque	Lead, Zinc	Past Producer	MRDS
Bealer Quarry	Cedar	Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, Dimension	Past Producer	MRDS
Bear Creek Quarries	Wapello	Limestone, Dimension	Past Producer	MRDS
Bear Creek Quarry	Dallas	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bear Creek Quarry	Dallas	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Beattie Quarry	Henry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bechler-Miller Pit	Lyon	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Becker Pit	Hardin	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Becker Pit	Floyd	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Becker Portable Plant #3	Woodbury	Construction Sand and Gravel	Abandoned	MSHA
Becker Quarry	Dubuque	Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, Dimension	Past Producer	MRDS
Beckley Quarry	Jackson	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bedel Pit	Plymouth	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS
Bedford Quarry	Taylor	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Beecher West Dubuque Quarry	Dubuque	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	MRDS
Bellefountain Pit	Mahaska	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	MRDS

Showing 100 of 2,756 abandoned mine sites. Browse by county above for complete listings.

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