GAS HAZARD ASSESSMENT IN THE RUDNA MINE, BASED ON ANALYSIS OF POROSITY OF DOLOMITES FROM THE RESERVOIR FORMATION

Abstract

Reservoir dolomites saturated with gas under high pressure were found in the ceiling of excavations in a Rudna copper mine in southwestern Poland. Reservoir dolomites are a major concern in the mining industry and the focus of substantial research. High-porosity dolomites are definitively considered "hazardous", but the gas is extracted from the dolomites with low porosity, too. So, it is necessary to know way of gas occurrence in the pore space. This article aims to describe the reservoir potential of the dolomites through pore space characterisation and determine whether the gas can migrate into the excavations. A comprehensive analysis of the distribution of pore size and nature using microscopic observations, X-ray microtomography and mercury porosimetry. The results distinguished three types of dolomites with different porosities: dolomites with high effective porosity, dolomites with reduced effective porosity, and sealed dolomites. Particular attention should be paid to sealed dolomites. Their effective porosity results from mercury porosimetry are very low. However, they also contained 4% closed porosity described from microscopic observations, where gas is accumulated, too. Presence of gas in the closed pores dolomites is a common phenomenon. However, the presence of high-pressure gas traps within locally more porous, microcraced and permeable dolomites is a major threat.