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Mining Project: Identification of Areas at Risk for Coal Bursts in Deep Cover Room and Pillar Mines
Keywords: Bumps Bursts Coal mining Geology Risk analysis 
 Room and pillar mining
This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.
Principal Investigator
Ted M. Klemetti -  Request informationStart Date
10/1/2010End Date
9/30/2012Objective
To develop enhanced guidelines for identifying "red zones," defined as areas within which the risk of coal bursts is significantly elevated. The guidelines will be based on an improved understanding of the geologic, stress, and mining factors that contribute to the burst risk.Topic Areas
Ground Control Overview
Horizontal Stress
Research Summary

After the Crandall Canyon mine disaster, NIOSH was asked to prepare a research report on the safety of deep cover room-and-pillar retreat underground coal mines. That report identified coal bursts as one of the major hazards faced by miners in these operations, and found that a key step in burst control is to identify those "red zone" areas that might be prone to bursts. Continued research to develop enhanced guidelines for burst control was one of the NIOSH report's recommendations.
This project's purpose was to develop enhanced guidelines for identifying "red zones," defined as areas within which the risk of coal bursts is significantly elevated. The guidelines were based on an improved understanding of the geologic, stress, and mining factors that contribute to the burst risk, and they will be included in the MSHA-approved roof control plans of mines with depths exceeding 1,000 ft. The project directly addressed Strategic Goal #6 of the Mining Program Strategic Goals for Intramural Research: Eliminate ground failure fatalities and injuries in the mining industry.
This project focused on defining the geologic and stress criteria associated with an elevated risk of coal bursts, considering both U.S. and international experience. Specific tasks included:
A thorough comparison of the geology (including stratigraphy and rock mechanics properties) and mining stresses (including topographic and multiple seam stresses) in bump-prone areas and non-bump-prone areas of the U.S. Visits were made to mining operations in the burst-prone coalfields of Central Appalachia and the West to obtain the data.
Visits to Europe and to Alabama were made to collect geologic and stress data from these coalfields (data from deep cover mines in Australia is already available). Rules of thumb used in the European coalfields to identify high-risk zones were also documented.At the end of the project, the data available were inadequate for determining burst risk for different areas of the mines, but did identify the same contributing factors that had been established in previous work.  The final database provided no additional understanding or guidelines relative to bursting in underground coal mines.


See Also
Coal Mine Burst Prevention Controls
Diagnosing and Controlling Moisture-Sensitive Roof in Coal Mines
Investigation of Methane Occurrence and Outbursts in the Cote Blanche Domal Salt Mine, Louisiana
Knowledge Management and Transfer for Mine Emergency Response
Managing Excess Gas Emissions Associated with Coal Mine Geologic Features
Preventing Equipment Related Injuries in Underground U.S. Coal Mines
Propagation of UHF Radio Waves in Limestone Room and Pillar Mines
The Role of Gas Desorption in the Energetic Failure of Coal
SPONCOM - A Computer Program for the Prediction of the Spontaneous Combustion Potential of an Underground Coal Mine
Technology News 545 - NIOSH Updates Spontaneous Combustion Assessment Software
Page last reviewed: October 22, 2016
Page last updated: October 22, 2016
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
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