## 2 Study Site  
Kuzbass is located in Russia and is one of the largest coal and methane deposits in the world (Figure 1). The predicted CBM resources are 13 trillion m\({}^{3}\). At depths of up to 1800 m, the thickness of gas-bearing coals with gas contents of up to 25-30 cubic meters per ton of a dry ashless mass (m\({}^{3}\)/t) is 90-120 m. A high concentration of gas resources (up to 3.0 billion m\({}^{3}\)/km\({}^{2}\)), intensive underground mining of coal seams, and the presence of industrial consumers in the region determine the prospects for CBM production. CBM extraction from coking coals with permeabilities of 30-50 mD is of greatest interest [22].  
Kuzbass accounts for 80% of coking coal production in Russia. Almost half of the coking coal reserves are concentrated in the Leninsky and Erunakovsky geological areas of  
Figure 1: Locations of the Nikitinsky, Tambovsky, and Tarsminsky fields in the Leninsky area, Kuzbass: (**a**) Kuzbass in Russia. (**b**) Location of the Leninsky area. (**c**) Locations of the fields of the coking coals and the main thrust faults in the Leninsky area. Black rectangle-the S.D. Tihov mine. (**d**) Significant coal seams of the Nikitinsky (II) and Tambovsky (I) fields. Legend: 1-coal seam; 2-horizon; 3-coal vitrinite reflectance; 4-gas content of coals and rocks in the certain depth interval; 5-rock crushing zones; 6-main thrust faults in the area.  
Kuzbass. The most valuable coking coals, characterized by an optimal maceral composition in terms of caking ability, are common in the lower layers of the Nikitinsky deposit, Leninsky area. These coals have a maximum vitrinite reflectance (R\({}_{0}\), max) of 0.81-1.1%, ash content on a dry basis (Ad) of 7.4-10.9%, volatile matter yield on a dry and ash-free basis (Vdaf) of 28.4-39.5%, and inertinite content of 3-19%.  
The study object is the Nikitinsky coal field, which is located in the Leninsky area, Kuzbass. The Nikitinsky coal field is developed by subsurface excavation and includes the S.D. Tihov mine. The significant coking coal reserves of the Nikitinsky field are associated with thin and moderately thick seams (Figure 1).  
There are also significant opportunities to increase coking coal and CBM production in the northwestern and southwestern parts of the Tarsminsky field. The Tambovsky field is also a promising target. The average total thickness of gas-bearing strata is 4.5-45 m with a gas factor of 20-35 m\({}^{3}\)/t at the \"\(-\)300 m\" horizon (Nikitinsky field) and 14-42 m with a gas factor of 25-27 m\({}^{3}\)/t at the \"\(-\)300 m\" horizon (Tambovsky field) and 8-20 m at the Tarsminsky field (Figure 1). The deposits of the Nikitinsky field, containing gas-bearing coking coals, occur at depths from 730 m to 1400 m. More specifically, the industrially significant coal seams are located at depths of 815, 850, 1050, 1175, 1245, 1315, and 1350 m. The mined coal seams and roof rocks are characterized by intense fracturing. The Tambovsky field deposits, including gas-bearing coking coals, occur at depths near 1000-1960 m. The industrially significant coal seams are at depths of 1090, 1330, 1460, 1550, 1675, 1760, and 1915 m. The predicted reserves of coal and CBM are 282 million t and 7846 million m\({}^{3}\), respectively. The Tarsminsky field deposits, containing gas-bearing coking coals, occur in the range of 640-1470 m. The industrially significant coal seams are at depths of 640-680 m, 710-750 m, 810-850 m, 875-915 m, 915-955 m, 960-1000 m, 1020-1060 m, 1150-1190 m, and 1210-1250 m [22].