Subnetwork with two nodes shared with entire ventilation network can be separated as its part. For the network under common ventilation conditions, one of these nodes will become the subnetwork starting node, while the other will be the subnetwork end node. According to the graphs theory, such a piece of the network can be considered as a subgraph of the graph representing the entire ventilation network. A special feature of that subgraph is lack of predecessors of the subnetwork starting node and lack of successors of the subnetwork end node. Ventilation district of a mine may be often treated as a subnetwork. Vicinity is a part of the network which is not separated as subnetwork. In the case of a ventilation district its vicinity forces air flow through the district. The alternative characteristic curve of the vicinity can therefore be compared to the characteristics curve of a fictional fan that forces the airflow in the district.

The alternative characteristics (later in the text: the characteristics) of the vicinity of the ventilation district in an underground mine strongly influence air quantity and therefore play a crucial role in the reduction of methane, fire and thermal hazards. The role of these characteristics and proper selection of their approximating function were presented in the article.

The reduction of resistance of an intake stopping (having influence on entire resistance of a ventilation district) produces increased airflow in the district. This changes of airflow in the district caused by a variation in internal resistance (e.g. by opening an internal regulation stopping) depends on the characteristic of the vicinity of the district. Proper selection of its approximating function is also important for this matter.

The methods of determination of the alternative characteristic curve of the district vicinity are presented. From these procedures it was possible to obtain the results of air quantities and differences in isentropic potentials between an inlet and an outlet to/from the ventilation district. Following this, the characteristics were determined by graphic and analytic methods. It was proved that, in contrast to flat vicinity characteristics, steep ones have a smaller influence on the airflow modification in the district (which are caused by a regulation of the district resistance). The characteristic curve of the vicinity determines the ability to regulate air quantity and velocity in the district.

Mining ventilation should ensure in the excavations required amount of air on the basis of determined regulations and to mitigate various hazards. These excavations are mainly: longwalls, function chambers and headings. Considering the financial aspect, the costs of air distribution should be as low as possible and due to mentioned above issues the optimal air distribution should be taken into account including the workers safety and minimization of the total output power of main ventilation fans. The optimal air distribution is when the airflow rate in the mining areas and functional chambers are suitable to the existing hazards, and the total output power of the main fans is at a minimal but sufficient rate.

Restructuring of mining sector in Poland is usually connected with the connection of different mines. Hence, dependent air streams (dependent air stream flows through a branch which links two intake air streams or two return air streams) exist in ventilation networks of connected mines. The zones of intake air and return air include these air streams. There are also particular air streams in the networks which connect subnetworks of main ventilation fans. They enable to direct return air to specified fans and to obtain different airflows in return zone. The new method of decreasing the costs of ventilation is presented in the article.

The method allows to determine the optimal parameters of main ventilation fans (fan pressure and air quantity) and optimal air distribution can be achieved as a result. Then the total output power of the fans is the lowest which makes the reduction of costs of mine ventilation.

The new method was applied for selected ventilation network. For positive regulation (by means of the stoppings) the optimal air distribution was achieved when the total output power of the fans was 253.311 kW and for most energy-intensive air distribution it was 409.893 kW. The difference between these cases showed the difference in annual energy consumption which was 1 714 MWh what was related to annual costs of fan work equaled 245 102 Euro. Similar values for negative regulation (by means of auxiliary fans) were: the total output power of the fans 203.359 kW (optimal condition) and 362.405 kW (most energy-intensive condition). The difference of annual energy consumption was 1 742 MWh and annual difference of costs was 249 106 Euro. The differences between optimal airflows considering positive and negative regulations were: the total output power of fans 49.952 kW, annual energy consumption 547 MWh, annual costs 78 217 Euro.

The shortage of investment areas may be at least partially satisfied by the development of reclaimed post-mining areas. These are often subsidence zones levelled with hard coal mine waste or reclaimed sub-level old dumps of this waste. From the geotechnical point of view, such grounds represent anthropogenic grounds containing mine waste, and they are considered as possessing unfavourable properties in terms of the foundation of building structures. The paper initially presents the analysis of the properties of waste from the hard coal mining industry, emphasising that they expose several beneficial properties enabling their safe use. The second part of the article is devoted to the determination of soil density using the DPSH probe. It has been found that the applicable standards lack complex relationships that would allow for a reliable interpretation of the measurement results in a wide range of soil types. The last part presents exemplary results of measurements made with the DPSH probe at a construction site. The obtained results allowed for the formulation of several conclusions regarding the possibility of building on a ground made of hard coal waste and the use of dynamic sounding to assess the geotechnical properties of such anthropogenic soil.