# Impact of Mining Disturbance on Highway Sustainability:
## 3 A Case Study
### Historical Background (Northern District of the Morava Pit)
The planned mining operations involve 14 excavation panels (EPs) strategically positioned within the Southern District of the Morava Pit, as illustrated in Figure 11. The coal seam thickness (d), ranging from 2 to 6.5 m, is derived from the geological assessment of the deposit and isolines of the main seam. The seam dip (\(\alpha\)), varying between 10 and 23\({}^{\circ}\), represents the average value observed in specific areas of the excavation site. To calculate subsidence parameters, the average seam dip values for each EP are utilized. Seam depths (H) are determined through geological interpretations, employing isohips of the terrain and stratum isolines for each EP individually. Depths range from 395 to 525 m.  
Manual computation of subsidence and deformation using the mathematical formulas of Pataric-Stojanovic method is an arduous and time-consuming task. However, the MITSOUKO program package streamlines this process by efficiently processing a large amount of input data and enabling the graphical representation of numerical data in GIS [35; 52]. The MITSOUKO program package enables the calculation of subsidence and deformations at any point on the ground surface for cases of horizontal and inclined coal seams, using the original empirical formulas from the Pataric-Stojanovic stochastic method. It also provides graphical visualization of numerical data from spatial analysis thanks to its integration capability with the ArcGIS 10.7 software package. The validation of the MITSOUKO program package and the accuracy verification of its predictions are presented in a case study for the Rembas underground coal mine--Resavica, Serbia [35]. In that study, a comparative analysis of predicted and measured subsidence values enabled adjustments of input parameters, improving the accuracy of prognostic calculations using the MITSOUKO program package and GIS-based spatial analyses, particularly in cases where excavation dynamics deviated from the planned schedule. Figure 10: Segment of the E75 Belgrade–Nis Highway in the zone of impact of mining operations ended in 1989 in the Northern District of the Morava Pit (recent photo). The MITSOUKO program package comprises three modules: PARAMETERS, SUBSIDENCE, and DEFORMATIONS [72]. In the PARAMETERS module, data obtained from geometric features for each EP are inputted. These calculated parameters and geometric features serve as inputs for the SUBSIDENCE module, where subsidence values after mining each EP are cumulatively computed based on planned dynamics. The DEFORMATIONS module calculates slope components and directions of the main slope [69]. It also computes the mean values of curvature in road intervals, along with their reciprocals, i.e., curvature radii. Calculated curvature values along the road axis after the excavation of each EP are tabulated and graphically presented. GIS facilitates the creation of a geodatabase, conversion of numerical data from the SUBSIDENCE and DEFORMATIONS modules to feature classes, their graphical representation, and spatial analyses of subsidence and deformations [72]. The calculated parameters and geometric features of each EP serve as inputs for subsidence calculations in the SUBSIDENCE module (Table 1). Spatial analysis within GIS integrates the predicted subsidence and deformation outcomes achieved through the MITSOUKO program package and data processing in ArcGIS [35]. The impact of mining operations on the land surface and the highway is assessed for all EPs based on projected subsidence and slope values. Figure 12 illustrates EPs at the Southern District of the Morava Pit, along with the adopted excavation dynamics and subsidence contour lines obtained through modeling using MITSOUKO software. The description of the modeling in Figure 12 illustrates the progressive increase in land subsidence values as mining operations advance from EP3 to EP14 in the Aleksinac coal mine--the Southern District of Morava Pit. Initially, the subsidence values rise along the coal seam dip, reaching U\({}_{3}\) = \(-\)950 mm after excavating EP3.