Abstract
Coal is an important resource that has supported China’s economic development. This situation is expected to continue in the immediate future. However, coal mining has also led to serious environmental disasters in some mining areas. Henan Province is one of the 14 large-scale coal bases that are planned by the Chinese state. It is located in the transitional zone between the second and third terrain ladders of China and spans two tectonic units. The geological features and ecological environmental characteristics display wide spatial variations throughout this district, which is an ecologically fragile region of stepped transition type. However, large-scale, extremely intense coal mining activities will inevitably lead to further deterioration of the already fragile ecological and geological (eco-geological) environment, which makes recovery increasingly difficult. Based on the condition of the eco-geological environment and the coal mining industry in the Henan mining area, the mechanisms by which mining-induced damage can occur were analyzed. The characteristics and status of the destruction of ground structures, land resources, water resources, the atmospheric environment, and natural ecology are discussed in this paper. Appropriate mitigation measures are proposed based on the findings. This mainly includes: management practices to prevent and mitigate damage throughout all stages of mining; adoption of mining techniques that will control damage at the source; and, the adoption of appropriate post-mining recovery technologies. The analysis of mining-induced eco-geological environmental damage and mitigation measures is of importance for the prevention of eco-geological disasters, and the promotion of efficient and environmentally sustainable exploitation of coal resources.
Highlights
Coal is the most abundant and important energy resource in China
More systematic environmental investigations and research in mining areas began in the late 1990s, especially since the establishment of the Ministry of Land and Resources, which resulted in mining-induced eco-geological environmental damage attracting great attention
Through dynamic comprehensive evaluation and risk assessment of ecological environment quality in Yanzhou mining area [33], the results show that: first, the quality of the ecological environment in this mining area is level III, while the overall environmental management and environmental protection conditions are poor and they should be strengthened; second, the quality of land, air, and noise are poor in this mining area; third, the speed of the improvement of the quality of the ecological environment is relatively slow
Summary
Coal is the most abundant and important energy resource in China. It accounts for 71.7% and 67% of domestic primary energy production and consumption, respectively. It can be seen that the underground coal mining process has caused serious and permanent destruction, including damage to ground structures, land subsidence and contamination, loss of water resources and pollution, and air pollution, as well as ecological degradation and imbalance [1,2,3,6]. More systematic environmental investigations and research in mining areas began in the late 1990s, especially since the establishment of the Ministry of Land and Resources, which resulted in mining-induced eco-geological environmental damage attracting great attention. With the requirement for sustainable development throughout the international mining industry, it is necessary to systematically study eco-geological environmental protection and resource exploitation as a whole. The eco-geological environment of a mining area is complex and diverse, and the damage that is caused by underground mining is very serious These conditions are representative of the mining-induced damage experienced in China.
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