Various ways by which soil organic matter (SOM) can be protected against decomposition in the soil are (1) by association with mineral surfaces; (2) by intrinsic biochemical composition of the organic macromolecules (recalcitrant carbon); and (3) by partitioning into soil aggregates (physical stabilization). It has been noted that the (clay + silt)-sized fraction of the soil and the poorly crystalline oxides and (oxy)hydroxides of Fe and Al are the major agents that offer mineralogical stability to the SOC. In the present study we identified a chronosequence of reclaimed minesoils near Morgantown, West Virginia between 1990 to the present to assess the relative contributions of mineral association and biochemical recalcitrance of SOC leading to its gradual accretion in soil. Fe- and/or Al-oxide/(oxy)hydroxide-associated carbon, (clay + silt)–sized carbon pool and SOC-pool were determined.