Coal rib response during bench mining: A case study

• Main Authors: Morgan M. Sears, John Rusnak, Mark Van Dyke, Gamal Rashed, Khaled Mohamed, Michael Sloan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2018-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Mining Science and Technology
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095268617308716

In 2016, room-and-pillar mining provided nearly 40% of underground coal production in the United States. Over the past decade, rib falls have resulted in 12 fatalities, representing 28% of the ground fall fatalities in U.S. underground coal mines. Nine of these 12 fatalities (75%) have occurred in room-and-pillar mines. The objective of this research is to study the geomechanics of bench room-and-pillar mining and the associated response of high pillar ribs at overburden depths greater than 300 m. This paper provides a definition of the bench technique, the pillar response due to loading, observational data for a case history, a calibrated numerical model of the observed rib response, and application of this calibrated model to a second site. Keywords: Deep cover, Bench mining, Thick seam, Retreat mining, Rib response, Rib support