Electrical resistivity imaging survey to detect uncharted mine galleries in the mining district of Linares, Jaén, Spain

Abstract

The scarcity of information about the existence of old mining shafts and galleries in urban areas is an important issue for future urban development. Electrical resistivity tomography is a non-destructive geophysical technique that can detect and characterize such subsurface cavities based on differences in the behaviour of electrical current in the void and in the embedding rock. Here we present a study in which this technique was used to determine the location of old engineered structures around the city of Linares, southern Spain, and to relate these structures to the abandoned deep mines present in the area. Eight electrical resistivity imaging profiles were performed, with a total of 22 808 measurements. Correlations between geoelectrical anomalies allow detection of the depth and the direction of several galleries, as well as the voids that result from mining extraction. Given the depth at which these structures are located (in some cases less than 5 m), they pose an important risk for future construction projects in areas of urban expansion. This technique is shown to be a useful tool for locating areas that pose important urban risks and, by extension, for the decision-making process in territorial planning, especially in areas with a history of deep mining.