17 - An Overview of Application of Coal Mine Ground Control Techniques in the USA

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of application of coal mine ground control techniques in the USA. Coal mine ground control is the science of application of rock mechanics techniques and principles to coal-mining operations, and as practiced in US underground, coal-mining operations in its present form is very much an art, mainly because the construction materials, namely, rock strata and coal seam, are not tailor-made as in other engineering disciplines, rather they are being used in their natural forms, which are rarely known in advance to the mine designers or coal operators. Many ground control problems are localized, that is, they occur in this mine but are never heard of in adjacent mines; they appear in one section of a mine but disappear in adjacent sections. In many cases, they occur in one or more pillar blocks but are not a problem in adjacent pillar. Under this condition, it is very difficult to design one system safely and economically for all possible conditions. As coal mining is a business activity, it requires continuous production of the highest efficiency, which demands high rates of face advance.