The main optimized objects in underground mines include: stope layout, access layout and production scheduling. It is common to optimize each component sequentially, where optimal results from one phase are regarded as the input data for the next phase. Numerous methods have been developed and implemented to achieve the optimal solution for each component. In fact, the interaction between different phases is ignored in the tradition optimization models which only get the suboptimal solution compared to the integrated optimization model. This paper proposes a simultaneous integrated optimization model to optimize the three components at the same time. The model not only optimizes the mining layout to maximize the Net Present Value (NPV), but also considers the extension sequence of stope extraction and access excavation. The production capacity and ore quality requirement are also taken into account to keep the mining process stable in all mine life. The model is validated to a gold deposit in China. A two-dimensional block model is built to do the resource estimation due to the clear boundary of the hanging wall and footwall. The thickness and accumulation of each block is estimated by Ordinary Kriging (OK). In addition, the conditional simulation method is utilized to generate a series of orebodies with equal possibility. The optimal solution of optimization model is carried out on each simulated orebody to evaluate the influence of geological uncertainty on the optimal mining design and production scheduling. The risk of grade uncertainty is quantified by the possibility of obtaining the expected NPV. The results indicate that the optimization model has the ability to produce an optimal solution that has a good performance under the uncertainty of grade variability.

The propagation of EM waves in soil is defined by permittivity and permeability which are in turn affected by the soil parameters such as soil moisture and texture. Therefore, a suitable Dielectric Model like MBSDM is required for the channel characterization of WUSN. Effect of soil parameters and environmental conditions on signal propagation is modelled using Superposition Model. The simulation of these stages is done in MATLAB for UG-UG, UG-AG and AG–UG scenarios. The system is further implemented on the ZYNQ ZC–702 hardware platform.

This article concerns numerical modeling of the impact of mining operations on fault behavior, carried out on the basis of a calculation program based on the finite element method. It was assumed that the fault is a single discontinuity in the form of a vertically-oriented plane, and the conditions in which surfaces merge are defined by the right of the Coulomb friction. On the one hand, the calculations are related to the fault’s response to additional weight resulting from mining operations, and on the other, they are related to the impact that occurrences in the fault’s plane had on the immediate surroundings of the extraction center. The behavior of the fault was analyzed based on distributions in the plane of shear stress and slip, together with their range and energy dissipated due to friction. In turn, the impact of the fault on its immediate environment was analyzed based on variations in the total energy density of elasticity. The results of numerical modeling made it possible to draw conclusions concerning mining operation in the proximity of tectonic dislocations in the context of seismic hazard’s levels.

With reference to the situation experienced in several Polish collieries where the risk of occurrence of gas-geodynamic phenomena is increasing and decisions to start the mining activities need to take numerous constraints associated with previous mining into account, this paper addresses certain geo-mechanical aspects of longwall mining in the zones of excavation edge interactions giving rise to major changes in the conditions of the deposit and rock strata, as a consequence of previous mining operations in adjacent coalbeds. Starting from the analytical description of displacements and stresses in the proximity of longwall mining systems, the paper summarizes the results of model tests and investiga-tions of the influence that the excavation edge has on the behavior and structural continuity of a portion of the coal body in the coalbed beneath or above an old excavation. Based on selected nonlinear functions emulating the presence of edges in the rock strata, a comparative study is carried out by investigating two opposite directions of workface advance, from the gob area towards the coal body and from the coal body towards the gobs. The discussion of the results relies on the analysis of roof deformation and the concentration factor of the vertical stress component at the workface front.

The current rockburst hazard conditions in the copper mines are the consequence of mining-induced seismicity of the rock strata whilst the majority of registered rockbursts have been caused by high-energy seismic events. T he analysis of seismic activity in recent years indicates that the region of the Rudna mine is the region of the highest seismic activity. This paper is an attempt at evaluating the seismicity levels in the Rudna mine in the period from 2006-2015, within the entire mine and in its particular sections. Key parameters of seismic activity include the number of registered seismic events, total energy emission levels, and a unit energy factor. The variability of Gutenberg -Richter (GR) parameters are analyzed and the epicenters’ locations are investigated with respect to the stope position. T he distinction is made between low-energy (103 ≤ As < 105 J) and high-energy (As ≥ 105J) seismic events ahead of the stope, in the opening-up cross-throughs and in the gob areas. It appears that the risk level of a high-energy event occurrence in the R udna mine has not changed in recent years and has remained on a high level whilst the differences in seismic activity, in particular mine sections, are attributed to the varied extraction height and varied thickness of rockburst-prone carbonate layers in the roof of the copper ore deposit. The analysis of the epicenters’ locations with respect to the stope reveals that no matter what the seismic energy levels, the largest number of rockbursts are registered in the opening-up cross-through zone. Low-energy tremors are mostly located in the gob areas, high-energy events occur mostly ahead of the stope. T hus, the evaluation of the seismicity conditions in the Rudna mine seems to positively verify the relationship between the number of registered events and the levels of generated seismic energy, taking the local geological and mining conditions and the specificity of the room and pillar mining method into account.

Mining-induced seismicity, particularly high-energy seismic events, is a major factor giving rise to dynamic phenomena within the rock strata. Rockbursts and stress relief events produce the most serious consequences in underground mines, are most difficult to predict and tend to interact with other mining hazards, thus making control measures difficult to implement. In the context of steadily increasing mining depth within copper mines in the Legnica-Głogów Copper Belt Area (Poland) alongside the gradually decreasing effective mining thickness, a study of the causes and specificity of mining-induced seismicity in specific geological and mining settings may improve the effectiveness of the prevention and control measures taken to limit the negative impacts of rockbursts in underground mine workings, thus ensuring safe working conditions for miners. This study investigates the presumed relationship between the mined ore deposit thickness and fundamental parameters of mining-induced seismicity, with the main focus on the actual locations of their epicenters with respect to the working face in commonly used room-and-pillar systems. Data recalled in this study was supplied by the O/ZG Rudna geophysics station. Based on information about the actual ore deposit thickness in particular sections of the mines (Rudna Główna, Rudna Północna, Rudna Zachodnia) and recent reports on seismic activity in this area, three panels were selected for further studies (each in different mine region), where the ore deposit thickness was varied (panel G-7/5 – Rudna Główna, panel XX/1 – Rudna Północna, panel XIX/1 – Rudna Zachodnia). Data from seismic activity reports in those regions was used for energetic and quantitative analysis of seismic events in the context of the epicenter location with respect to the selected mining system components: undisturbed strata, working face and abandoned excavations. In consideration of the available rockburst control methods and preventive measures, all events (above 1 × 103 J) registered in the database were analysed to infer about the global rockburst hazard level in the panel and phenomena induced (provoked) by blasting were considered in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented control measures.

The stability of gateroads is one of the key factors for the mining process of hard coal by a longwall system. Wrong designed and applied the gateroad support at the stage of drilling, may adversely affect the functionality of the gateroad and the safety of the crew throughout its existence.

The article presents the results of the underground tests and observations such as: convergence of the gateroad, stratification and the fractured zone range in the roof rocks, carried out in four longwall gateroads at the stage of their drilling.

The obtained test results were the basis for the assessment of the possibility of using a convergence control method in the design of the gateroad support. The method is based on three interdependent relationships, such as: Ground Reaction Curve (GRC), Longitudinal Displacement Profile (LDP), and a Support Characteristic Curve (SCC). All calculations were performed using numerical modeling in the Phase2 program, based on the finite element method (FEM).

This article presents the results of experimental studies aimed at identifying the forces and acceleration during the riding and braking action of a suspended monorail. The tests were conducted under in situ conditions, in a dip-heading “B” ZG SILTECH in Zabrze. The paper also discusses a test stand, a metering system, and presents the impact of changes in speed on forces in slings of the suspended route. The measurements of selected parameters were performed for three variants: the route, the emergency haulage braking and the braking trolley set braking. The results include waveforms of forces in route slings, and acceleration values acting on the operator and transported load.

The efficient protection (support reinforcement) of a wall and heading crossing ensures continuity of the production cycle, and that is a quick moving of the scraper conveyor to the wall. Using low or high bolting as a support reinforcement element in wall and heading crossings allows for the elimination of traditional methods of maintaining longwall-gate crossings, and therefore allows for the efficient use high performance modern wall complexes. The paper presents the long underground experience, of the Knurów–Szczygłowice mine of efficient support wall and heading crossing maintenance, which was bolted to the rock mass with the usage of two pairs of bolts, showing full technical and economical usefulness of this support reinforcement method. The article also highlights work safety and the increasingly common usage of endoscopies when specifying the range of crack areas which directly effects the proper choice in number, load-capacity and length of the used bolts. The underground studies the measurements of the reach of the zones of fracturing and roof stratification (using endoscopes and wire type stratification meters) and the laboratory tests (using the test stand) have allowed to determine the safety factor for maintenance of the longwall gangway crossing, directly resulting in the necessity to install additional reinforcement. The value of the safety factor Sbsc-ch greater than 1 is advantageous and safe, and the value less than or equal to 1 can lead to a significant deterioration of the conditions of maintenance of a wall and heading crossing which was bolted.

Mine drainage and discharge of salt waters into water bodies belong to main environmental issues, which must be appropriately addressed by the underground coal mining industry. The large area of exploited and abandoned mine fields in the Upper Silesia Coal Basin, as well as the geological structure of the rock mass and its hydrogeological conditions require the draining and discharge of about 119 million m3/yr of mine waters. Increasing the depth of mining and the necessity of protection of mines against water hazard result in increased amounts of chlorides and sulphates in the mine waters, even by decreasing the total coal output and the number of mines. The majority of the salts are being discharged directly into rivers, partly under control of salt concentration, however from the point of the view of environment protection, the most favorable way of their utilization would be technologies allowing the bulk use of saline waters. Filling of underground voids represents a group of such methods, from which the filling of goaves (cavings) is the most effective. Due to large volume of voids resulting from the extraction of coal and taking the numerous limitations of this method into account, the potential capacity for filling reaches about 17.7 million m3/yr of cavings and unnecessary workings. Considering the limited availability of fly ash, which is the main component of slurries being in use for the filling of voids, the total volume of saline water and brines, which could be utilized, has been assessed as 3,5–6,5 million m3/yr

The application of fluidized fly ash in underground mining excavations is limited due to its significant content of free calcium and calcium sulfate. In order to increase the amount of utilized fly ash from fluidized beds, it should be converted to a product with properties that meet the requirements for mining applications. This research presents the results of an attempt to adapt fluidized fly ashes for use in underground mining techniques, by means of carbonation and granulation. Carbonation was performed with the use of technical carbon dioxide and resulted in the reduction of free calcium content to a value below 1%. Granulation on the other hand, resulted in obtaining a product with good physical and mechanical parameters. The performed mineralogical and chemical studies indicate that trace amounts of “binding” phases, such as basanite and/or gypsum are present in the carbonized ash. The addition of water, during the granulation of carbonized fluidized fly ash, resulted in changes in the mineral phases leading to the formation of ettringite and gypsum as well as the recrystallization of the amorphous substance. It was confirmed that the carbonization and granulation of flying fluidized ashes positively affects the possibility of using these ashes in underground mining excavations.

The article describes mine survey works during opening old St. Anthony of Padua water adit in Horní Město (Czech Republic) to make it accessible to visitors. The works cover the connecting survey and orientation measurement, traverse measurement of the first opened part, setting-out projection of the end of opened part to the surface to make shaft from the surface, new connecting survey and orientation measurement by shaft and traverse measurement of the rest of water adit. Non-standard aids and techniques were used during surveying. One of the tools is a suspended prism holder developed at Institute of geodesy and mine surveying, VSB – Technical university of Ostrava, registered as a utility patent.

Optimization in mine planning could improve the economic benefit for mining companies. The main optimization contents in an underground mine includes stope layout, access layout and production scheduling. It is common to optimize each part sequentially, where optimal results from one phase are treated as the input for the next phase. The production schedule is based on the mining design. Access layout plays an important role in determining the connection relationships between stopes. This paper proposes a shortest-path search algorithm to design a network that automatically connects each stope. Access layout optimization is treated as a network flow problem. Stopes are viewed as nodes, and the roads between the stopes are regarded as edges. Moreover, the decline location influences the ore transport paths and haul distances. Tree diagrams of the ore transportation path are analyzed when each stope location is treated as an alternative decline location. The optimal decline location is chosen by an enumeration method. Then, Integer Programming (IP) is used to optimize the production scheduling process and maximize the Net Present Value (NPV). The extension sequence of access excavation and stope extraction is taken into account in the optimization model to balance access development and stope mining. These optimization models are validated in an application involving a hypothetical gold deposit, and the results demonstrate that the new approach can provide a more realistic solution compared with those of traditional approaches.

The transformation processes that occur in the technical, informational, and economic spheres of the regions require the development of new conceptual approaches to the development of a full-fledged land use system based on an analysis of the problems of using underground real estate. Determination of the features of land use of underground real estate is based on a quantitative basis, which is built on a systematic, integrated approach. Indicators that determine the condition and use of underground real estate are of particular importance for the development of the approach. A method of estimating a generalized indicator of the use of underground real estate in the system of land use of regions based on an integrated approach, which includes the method of expert assessments by applying qualitative indicators characterizing the status and level of use of underground real estate, considering urban, spatial, investment and innovation legal and safety features is developed. The assessment results of the integrated indicator of underground real estate land use, as well as the results of the assessment by region, showed a low level of use of underground real estate in the land use system of the regions. It is determined that most of the lands in the regions have low levels of underground real estate use. Besides, there is a need to increase the use of underground real estate by developing appropriate methodological recommendations.

Underground structures have gained importance in recent times all over the globe. Successful completion of such ventures hinges on accurate and realistic design which is neither optimistic nor conservative, and a balanced design is the need of the hour. The present work shows a comparative study on support design, such as Terzhagi’s load theory and quantitative methods of Rock mass quality (Q), Rock Mass Rating of Bieniawski, and PLAXIS-2D Numerical modeling. The results obtained show that final support measures such as shotcreting, thickness, rock bolting, length, frequency, and requirements of steel supports are better. Based on engineering judgment and analytical approaches, realistic support measures were obtained for an access tunnel to be excavated in Nilagiri, Tamil Nadu.