Mining Activities Research Articles

Miner competition and transaction fees

In order to maintain the function of a decentralized financial system like Bitcoin, transaction fees are offered to engage miners in the transaction confirmation process. This paper investigates the effect of miner competition on the equilibrium transaction fees. We develop a game-theoretic model with costly entry into mining activities. We find that miners may strategically assemble fewer transactions into a block to reduce total fees, and as a result, to deter entry. Equilibrium transaction fees also depend on block rewards as a rise in total fees is accompanied by a drop in rewards. Our empirical analysis supports the model’s predictions. We provide evidence on the existence of excess capacity in a block, taking into account the random confirmation process. The empirical findings demonstrate that heightened competition tends to increase the block size and total fees. Furthermore, the halving of rewards correlates to a fee hike.

Machine learning approach for detection of land subsidence induced by underground coal fire using multi-sensor satellite data

ABSTRACT High-rank coal reserves in Jharia Coalfield (JCF, India), are invariably associated with underground coal fires and land subsidence. This study explores multi-sensor time series satellite data (Landsat 8 OLI and Sentinel-1) through machine learning (ML) to determine the regional ground deformation accompanying coal fires and their contextual relationship. The results show that the highest degree of subsidence is closely associated with the active mine benches with overburden dumps. The relationship between the coal fire and land subsidence parameters is considered as a binary classification problem, explored by calculating the probability of subsidence with a desirable categorical outcome through different ML models. The accuracy of the models is validated using performance metrics that shows that the Random Forest (RF) metrics predict the probability of deformation locations in response to the volume reduction of the burning coal fire and vertical compression due to Overburden Dump (OBD) near active mine benches. The estimated displacement trends have been used to forecast the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) method, estimated using Line-of-Sight (LOS) displacement values vary around the best fit within the 95% confidence limits. The trend shows ∼15–25% increase in subsidence compared to the cumulative subsidence.

Assembly Mechanism of Rhizosphere Fungi in Plant Restoration in Lead Zinc Mining Areas

Background: So far, the assembly and response mechanism of soil fungi in the ecological restoration process of lead zinc mines is still unclear. Methods: In this study, we selected three plants for the ecological restoration of abandoned lead zinc mining areas and explored the community assembly mechanism by which soil fungi assist plants in adapting to the environment during the ecological restoration process. Results: The results revealed that the mining of lead zinc mines led to a significant decrease in soil fungal diversity, whereas the planting of three plants significantly increased the diversity of rhizosphere fungi. Mining activities significantly reduced the abundance of soil Fusarium, Macroventuria, Cladosporium, and Solicocozyma and increased the abundance of soil Helvella. After three ecologically restored plants were planted, the abundances of Fusarium and Cladosporium increased significantly, whereas the abundance of Helvella decreased significantly. In addition, Capronia was significantly enriched in the rhizosphere soils of three plant species in the mining area. β diversity and fungal guild analysis revealed that mining activities had a great impact on fungal communities and guilds. The ecological restoration of plants changed the guilds of rhizosphere fungi, making them closer to those of the control sample. In addition, the endophyte guild was significantly enriched in the rhizosphere soil of three ecologically restored plants, increasing their adaptability. Conclusions: The results provide a reference for screening lead zinc mine bioremediation strains and developing fungal plant joint remediation strategies.

Spatial distribution, source apportionment, and health risks assessment of trace elements in pre- and post-monsoon soils in the coal-mining region of North Karanpura basin, India.

Coal mining activities in the North Karanpura basin have significantly increased the trace element (TE) concentrations in the soil, resulting in soil pollution and potential health risks. To assess this, 113 soil samples, along with coal, shale, and overburden rocks, were collected from open-cast mining areas during pre-monsoon (Pre-M) and post-monsoon (Post-M) seasons. Seasonal analysis revealed higher TE concentrations in the Post-M period, especially in the SE direction, followed by NE and NW, likely due to surface runoff and deposition, demonstrating temporal variability in TE distribution which corroborated from the spatial distribution maps. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) model identified four factors: mixed sources (F1Pre-M: 37.6 %; F4Post-M: 28.9 %), coal-fired emissions (F2Pre-M: 20.5 %; F3Post-M: 26.0 %), overburden rocks (F3Pre-M: 25.5 %; F2Post-M: 16.7 %), and agricultural and lithogenic origin (F4Pre-M: 16.4 %) during the Pre-M period, attributed to coal mining. Post-M sources were similar, but agricultural and lithogenic origins were replaced by atmospheric deposition (F1Post-M: 28.4 %), enhanced by monsoon effects. Carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that As, Cr, and Ni exceeded acceptable levels for children via ingestion, though adults remained within safe limits. Inhalation and dermal contact were also considered, but ingestion posed the highest risk. The hazard index (HI) via ingestion showed that children had an HI of 1.6 in Pre-M, increasing to 2.66 in Post-M, highlighting their potential vulnerability to non-carcinogenic risks, while adults stayed within safe limits. The expansion of mining areas in the study region led to decrease in vegetative areas which could affect agriculture and local communities, raising a comprehensive environmental and public health issues. These results underline the need for implementing effective biannual soil monitoring and mitigation strategies, such as phytoremediation, bioremediation, rock dust remediation, chemical amendments and improved waste management, to reduce TE contamination.

Pollution and the abundance of plankton in Rangkui River in Bangka Island

Land use and activity around the Rangkui Watershed affect water quality, and plankton have been studied to help manage the river's water quality. In the 2017 dry season, six station points representing land use functions from upstream to downstream were studied. Surface water sampling was carried out during the day with three replicates. Pollution around the Rangkui Watershed affected plankton abundance. Based on saprobity and physicochemical readings, the pollution level ranged from light upstream to heavy downstream. This study found 15 species from 15 families from six phytoplankton classes, that is, Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Euglenophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Cryptophyceae, Dinophyceae, and 2 species of zooplankton Eurotatoria, and Branchiopoda. The highest total abundance of phytoplankton and zooplankton was observed upstream of Station 1 (721 ind/L) and gradually decreased downstream, with the exception of the absence of plankton at Station 3. Nitrate had a positive correlation with phytoplankton at different correlation levels, whereas other abiotic environments responded differently to phytoplankton and zooplankton. The water quality is highest upstream, where there are pepper plantations, and gradually decreases as it flows downstream. The station near tin mining activities was the most polluted.

Dynamics of Land Use and Coverage and its Impacts on the Upper Moquegua River Hydrographic Basin

Objective: Evaluate; identify and qualify the impacts of the dynamics of land use and coverage in the years 1973 and 2016 in the Hydrographic Basin and in the marginal strip of the Upper Moquegua River in Moquegua Peru. Theoretical framework: In the area studied, human activities and global climate change have disturbed the balance of natural systems, causing major impacts and complex consequences on land use and cover. Method: Digital image processing techniques and supervised classification using the maximum likelihood method were used, followed by matrix editing with refinement of the base and thematic cartography, reaching 94.4% accuracy in interpretation for the year 2016. Result and discussion: The main changes identified regarding the dynamics of land use and coverage were similar in the basin area and in the marginal strip. An increase was noted in the urban area of the entire basin of 568.53ha (1,097.96%) and 134.86ha (1,263.33%) in the marginal strip, which may have been largely influenced by mining activity, which was not observed in 1973, but present in 2016, occupying an area of 1,092.77ha throughout the basin, with 171.99ha in the marginal strip. The areas that had the greatest reduction were those of the glacier, with 2,275.39ha (-93.33%) in the entire basin and 83.77ha (-100.00%) in the marginal strip. Conclusion: With the results of this research, we hope to contribute to the literature related to the topic and to actions and public policies that encourage the appropriate use of land in the Upper Moquegua River Basin, especially in environmental protection areas.

Trace Metal Elements (TMEs) in Groundwater Around the Former Industrial Gold Mine of Poura in Burkina Faso – West Africa

The objective of this study is to assess the quality of groundwater around the first industrial mine in Burkina Faso, whose activities have been closed since 1999. The diagnosis of pollution by trace metal elements of groundwater around the old Poura gold mine was carried out through the determination of the contents of Trace Metal Elements (TME) at MP-AES and the measurements of the physicochemical parameters in situ on 38 samples of borehole water. These data made it possible to calculate the pollution risk index, to establish correlations between the different physicochemical parameters on the one hand and with the trace metal elements on the other hand, from the Pearson matrix and to carry out a multivariate statistical analysis, in particular that in principal components (PCA), with a view to determining the origin of the polluting elements. The results obtained made it possible to identify four samples of groundwater with an acidic pH (GWF18 (6.44), GWF19 (6.39), GWF23 (6.1) and GWP01 (5.99)) and 34 samples of groundwater whose Cd, Al, Fe, As, Pb, or Hg contents are higher than the standards in force in Burkina Faso. The Pollution risk Index (PI) indicates that 35 groundwater samples are slightly polluted and 3 groundwater samples are very heavily polluted (GWP01 (PI = 456%), GWF06 (PI = 132.5%), GWF03 (PI = 105.1%)). The Pearson correlation matrix and the principal component analysis (PCA) show that the origin and mobilization of the trace metal elements involved (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Fe, Hg and Pb) are linked to natural mineralization and anthropogenic activities such as mining and agricultural activities, favored by the infiltration of water into the subsoil through geological structures such as fractures and faults.

Realization of Integrated Regional Ecological Management Based on Ecosystem Service Supply and Demand Flow Networks: An Example from a Dominant Mineral Resources Development Area

Understanding the flow processes and pattern optimization of ecosystem services (ESs) supply and demand is crucial for integrated regional ecological management. However, the understanding of the flow process of ESs at the 1 km grid scale is still limited, especially in areas dominated by mineral resource development. The landscape in these areas has undergone significant changes due to mining activities. It is urgent to construct a regional management model that integrates the flow of ecosystem services and mine restoration. This study developed a framework that links ecosystem service flows (ESFs) and ecological security patterns (ESP) based on multi-source ecological monitoring data, constructed an ES supply-demand flow network through the flow properties, and determined the sequence and optimization strategies for mine rehabilitation to achieve integrated regional management. The results show that, except for food production (FP), other services were in surplus overall, mostly in synergistic relationships, but the spatial distribution of their supply and demand was not coordinated. Surplus areas were located mainly in the eastern woodlands, and deficit areas were located in the northwestern production agglomeration centers, suggesting that areas of supply-demand imbalance can be mitigated through ecological integration. Among these, water yield (WY) had a small number of sources and sinks and is limited in area range. Habitat quality (HQ) sources and sinks had the largest area coverage and the highest number. The distribution of ESF corridors, influenced by factors such as the number of sources and sinks, flow characteristics, and spatial resistance, varied significantly. HQ exhibited a more uniform distribution range, while WY had a longer average length of flow path. Overlaying ecological and mining factors, we identified ecological strategic spots, important supply areas, beneficiary areas, and mine priority restoration areas to further optimize the overall layout and rationally allocate the intrinsic structure of the patches based on ES supply and demand.

CONSERVAÇÃO DA GEODIVERSIDADE EM GEOSSISTEMAS FERRUGINOSOS

This study examines the evolution of areas surrounding the bat caves in the Ferruginous Geosystem of Carajás from 1985 to 2022, emphasising the significance of geodiversity conservation in this unique context. The land use and cover transformations analysis reveals critical insights into spatio-temporal changes and escalating environmental degradation risks. The findings enhance the literature on geodiversity conservation and speleology, providing a solid foundation for future research. Monitoring mined areas and their ecological impacts is essential for refining management strategies for these sensitive ecosystems. Furthermore, recent attempts to amend cave protection legislation, particularly Decree 10.935, pose significant conservation challenges, necessitating a critical evaluation of environmental policies and fostering dialogue among researchers, policymakers, and the mining industry. This study highlights the urgent need for a balanced approach between resource extraction and environmental conservation to mitigate adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecological processes. Integrated and evidence-based environmental management is crucial for addressing the challenges of mining activities and regulatory changes, ensuring the protection of caves and their ecosystems for a sustainable future.

Microbial Inoculants Modify the Functions of Resident Soil Microbes to Expedite the Field Restoration of the Abandoned Mine

ABSTRACTGlobal‐scale mining activities have had significant deleterious impacts on local ecosystems and the overall environment, which will necessitate robust restoration efforts. A practical approach includes combining microbial inoculants with the technology of external soil spray seeding. This approach holds the potential for sustainable abandoned mine site restoration by enhancing plant growth through the modulation of soil nutrients and microbial communities. Nonetheless, the detailed effects of microbial inoculants on specific aspects of soil microbial community functions and their complex interactions with plant growth remain underexplored, particularly in the context of restoration efforts. To bridge this gap, we performed a four‐year field study at an abandoned carbonate mine location, using metagenomic sequencing to evaluate the influence of microbial inoculants on soil microbial functionality. Our research revealed that introducing microbial inoculants greatly enhanced essential soil parameters and notably increased plant biomass. Additionally, these inoculants altered the functional gene makeup of the microbial community, significantly boosting the relative abundance of processes such as nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification, assimilatory nitrate reduction (ANRA), dissimilatory nitrate reduction (DNRA), and organic phosphorus mineralization. Conversely, there was a decrease in the relative abundance of carbon degradation, phosphorus regulation, and transport processes. We observed strong correlations between the abundance of nitrogen and phosphorus cycles and plant biomass. Crucially, microbial inoculants affect plant biomass by initially altering soil properties and subsequently coordinating nitrogen and phosphorus cycles. These findings provide valuable insights into the role of microbial inoculants in mine site restoration and offer a theoretical foundation for their broader practical application.

Coal mining activities driving the changes in bacterial community

The mechanism of the difference in bacterial community composition caused by environmental factors in the underground coal mine is unclear. In order to reveal the influence of coal mining activities on the characteristics of bacterial community structure in coal seam, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing technology was used to determine the species abundance, biodiversity, and gene abundance of bacterial community in a coal mine in Shanxi Province, and the environmental factors such as metal elements, non-metal elements, pH value, and gas concentration of coal samples were determined. The results showed that environmental factors and bacterial communities had obvious regional characteristics. Mining activities greatly affected the α diversity of bacterial communities, mining working face > main airway > roadway roof > unexposed coal seam > tunneling roadway. The bacterial community composition of each sample point is also very different. The main airway, roadway roof, and unexposed coal seam are dominated by Actinobacteria while the mining working face and tunneling roadway are dominated by Proteobacteria. Among the gene abundances of metabolic pathways in each site, Citrate cycle had the greatest difference, followed by glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, and oxidative phosphorylation and methane metabolism had little difference. RDA analysis showed that the environmental factors affecting the bacterial community were mainly cadmium, oxygen, hydrogen, and gas content. CCA analysis divided the bacterial community into three categories. Degradation functional bacteria are located in mining working face, bacteria that tolerate poor environments are located in main airway and tunneling roadway, and human pathogens are mostly located in roadway roof and unexposed coal seam. The research results would provide support for realizing green and safe mining in coal mines.

Spectral Variations of Reclamation Vegetation in Rare Earth Mining Areas Using Continuous–Discrete Wavelets and Their Impact on Chlorophyll Estimation

Ion-adsorption rare earth mining areas are primarily situated in the hilly regions of southern China. However, mining activities have led to extensive deforestation of the original vegetation. The reclamation vegetation planted for ecological restoration faces significant challenges in surviving under environmental stresses, including heavy metal pollution, ammonia nitrogen contamination, and soil drought. To rapidly and accurately monitor the growth of reclamation vegetation, this study investigates the spectral variations and their impact on the accuracy of chlorophyll estimation, utilizing hyperspectral data and relative chlorophyll content (SPAD). Specifically, continuous–discrete wavelet transforms were applied, along with the original spectra and first derivative spectra, to enhance spectral anomalies in the reclamation vegetation and identify chlorophyll-sensitive spectral features. Additionally, multiple linear stepwise regression and backpropagation neural network models were employed to estimate chlorophyll content. The results revealed the following: (1) the d5 and d6 scales of the discrete wavelet effectively highlighted spectral anomalies in the reclamation vegetation; (2) Salix japonica (Salix fragilis L.), among typical reclamation species, exhibited poor adaptability to the environmental conditions of the rare earth mining area; (3) the backpropagation neural network model demonstrated superior performance in chlorophyll estimation, with the spectral features Fir, Fir_d4, Fir_d5, and Fir_d6 significantly enhancing the accuracy of the model, achieving an R2 of 0.93 for Photinia glabra (Photinia glabra (Thunb.) Maxim.). The application of continuous–discrete wavelet transforms to hyperspectral data significantly improves the precision of chlorophyll estimation, underscoring the potential of this method for the rapid monitoring of reclamation vegetation growth.

Technosols Made from Iron Mine Tailings and Construction and Demolition Waste as an Alternative for Sustainable Solid Waste Management

ABSTRACTBrazil faces urgent environmental challenges due to large waste production from mining and construction activities particularly regarding the disposal and management of the solid waste generated by these activities. The extraction of iron ore and the storage of tailings in dams, most of which are at imminent risk of rupture, represent foretold environmental disasters. Additionally, the disposal of construction waste raises environmental concerns due to the decreasing vailability of inert landfill space. To address these challenges, we evaluated the potential of Technosols made from construction and demolition waste (CDW) and iron mining tailing (IMT) in different proportions (60:40, 70:30, 80:20, and 100% of IMT and CDW, respectively) to support grass development. The Technosols were compared to a natural soil (Haplic Ferralsol). The soils were cultivated with Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu in a field experiment conducted for 120 days. At the end of experiment, soil samples were collected and analyzed their chemical, physical, and mineralogical attributes, while plants were analyzed for dry biomass. Plants cultivated in Technosols exhibited dry biomass production 3.3‐fold (825 ± 270 g) greater than those cultivated in the natural soil (251 ± 77 g). Higher biomass production in the Technosols, especially in the TEC70:30, was associated with the favorable chemical conditions of these soils, such as slightly neutral pH (~7.5), higher cation exchange capacity (68.1 ± 12.4 mmol dm−3) and nutrient availability, especially Ca and P (57.8 ± 0.8 and 28.2 ± 0.4 mmol dm−3, respectively). These results aim to provide insights for the effective use of different Technosols in mitigating environmental impacts and promoting sustainable land and waste management practices, primarily to prevent future environmental disasters.

Evaluasi Kontaminasi Penambangan Batubara Seam E PT Bumi Merapi Energi Blok Kungkilan di Kabupaten Lahat

PT Bumi Merapi Energi is a company engaged in coal mining which is administratively located in Muara Maung Village, West Merapi District, Lahat Regency, South Sumatra Province. This research was carried out in the Kungkilan block in the Seam E area, where all mining activities are carried out by parties. second (contractor), namely by PT Ansaf Inti Resources using the open mining method. So there are several factors that cause contamination, one of which is contamination from within in the form of clay/clay material so it needs to be handled using the parting and cleaning separation method using a PC200 Excavator and it must be in accordance with the company's coal getting SOP, namely if it is above 10cm then cleaning is carried out and if it is below 10cm coal getting is carried out directly at the same time as the coal so that the quality of the coal does not decrease too far.

An open-source approach for measuring corporate impacts on ecosystem services and biodiversity

Existing approaches to evaluating companies on sustainability-related issues include limited accounting of impacts on nature and its contributions to human well-being. Here we present an approach for quantifying the direct impacts of companies’ physical assets on nature based on global maps for eight ecosystem service and biodiversity metrics. We apply this approach to a set of over 2000 global, publicly traded companies with 580,000 mapped physical assets and find that companies in utility, real estate, materials, and financial sectors have the largest impacts on average, with substantial variation within all sectors. Using high-spatial-resolution satellite imagery to map individual mine footprints, we compare a set of active lithium mines and find that impacts vary substantially among mines and change over time. By using open-source models and drawing on the growing availability of high-spatial-resolution satellite imagery, this approach could provide more transparent measures of corporate impacts to nature for nature-related reporting.

Russia’s Wagner Group/Africa Corps: an authoritarian conflict management examination

ABSTRACT The article examines Russia’s Wagner Group and its successor, Africa Corps, through the lens of Authoritarian Conflict Management (ACM) with its three levels of discourse, space, and economy. To set the analysis, the article first identifies ACM’s rationales and components in contradistinction to liberal peacebuilding. The article then interrogates Wagner Group’s activities in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali. It closes with a scrutiny of Wagner Group’s impact and limitations with ACM in mind and investigates the degree to which Africa Corps can be framed in the same manner. Collectively, these parts reveal that Wagner Group’s presence supported democratic erosion and authoritarian entrenchment in CAR and Mali. Yet human rights transgressions against civilians and particular attention to mining and economic activities spurred grievances amongst non-fighters, rebel groups, and jihadists alike in CAR and Mali. Quantitative personnel limitations of Wagner Group/Africa Corps both inform the stance taken and limit the ability to respond and assert dominance as per ACM considerations.

Governance fragmentation and agency of miners in Ghana’s artisanal mining sector

Artisanal mining in Ghana was established by law as a legitimate indigenous economic activity in 1989, but the sector still lacks a designated formalized governance architecture. Artisanal mining in Ghana borrows from a governance architecture that is designed for large-scale corporate mining. Aspects of artisanal mining fall under governance of various issue areas. Mechanisms that are exclusive to artisanal mining are mostly temporary, including such ad hoc measures as moratoria and paramilitary operations. Also, non-state actors adopt measures to address specific needs in the sector. Hence, Ghana’s artisanal mining governance architecture includes duplicate, overlapping, uncoordinated, and competitive formal and informal measures. This creates confusion and uncertainty, complicates and derails governance, and disrupts legal mining activity. Miners manage to navigate the environment, often through illegal operations. Sometimes, miners also craft independent governance architectures in the mining sites. Literature on governance of artisanal mining in Ghana addresses various empirical and theoretical questions, without highlighting the sector’s fragmented governance architectures and miners’ agency in that context. Redirecting attention to the trend, this paper examines the following questions: 1) In what ways does governance fragmentation manifest in Ghana’s artisanal mining sector? How do miners navigate the environment and how does miner agency impact the fragmented governance? The paper applies a global governance concept to shed new light on governance of artisanal mining, an informal domestic sector, in relation to miner agency in the fragmented governance environment in Ghana. Focusing on environmental issues, the paper uses data from field research in Ghana and relevant secondary sources. Although miners’ independent governance effort extends the governance fragmentation, it is an important guide on formalizing artisanal mining in the Ghanaian context. The paper makes novel empirical and theoretical contributions to discussions on governance fragmentation and governance of artisanal mining.

Negotiating the legitimacy of conservation at mining frontiers: Evidence from Madagascar and the DR Congo

Political ecologists are increasingly interested in the dynamics of power and authority where mining and conservation converge. We contribute to this emerging literature by applying an 'actor-oriented' approach to explore the creation of protected areas in African mining frontiers. Concretely, we look at how 'multiple-use' protected areas have been layered on top of mining frontiers in eastern DRC and northern Madagascar. Both of these mining frontiers include artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial mining activities and permits. In the DRC case, various state and non-state armed actors are also implicated in mining. Our results show that the legitimacy of conservation at mining frontiers evolves as a process involving indiscrete phases of negotiation, coercion, resistance and cooperation. When authorities and alliances supporting mining interests preclude coercive conservation strategies, conservation authorities need to negotiate their way through different phases of resistance and cooperation. We find that in both cases, local actors living at the extraction and conservation nexus assert their agency and 'forum shop', by switching their allegiances between conservation and mining actors.

Assessment of fly ash based sand as a perspective alternate backfill material for stowing in mining activity

Due to the paucity of river sand and increased regulations on sand mining, mine fill voids are kept emptied, fostering the demand for alternate backfilling material. This study attempts to develop fly ash based sand (FAB Sand) using abundantly available fly ash alone as resource material and explores its suitability as a stowing material in mine void applications, including both underground and open mining activity. Since sand within particle sizes from 4.75 to 0.075 mm is explicitly used for stowing applications, FAB Sand is developed within the same particle size range. Its applicability is evaluated in terms of physical, chemical, mechanical, morphological and mineralogical properties, and suitability is assessed by comparing vis-à-vis with river sand. Towards environmental acceptability, leaching characteristics and human health risks of FAB Sand are examined comprehensively. The findings of the study reveal that FAB Sand is not only doable and promising but could also become a sustainable alternate backfilling material for stowing in mining activities. Results pertaining to environmental acceptability endorse that FAB Sand poses no threat to ecology and human health. Overall, the proposed novel alternate backfill material and its employability alleviates the mining of sand from rivers while concurrently accentuating sustainable solutions for mining practices.

Static expansion fracturing mechanism for enhancing gas permeability in low permeability coal seams

Extraction of gas from low-permeability thick coal seams poses challenges globally, attributed to low extraction efficiency, limited enrichment content, and extraction complexities. Investigating static fracturing in low-permeability thick coal seams holds substantial engineering significance and practical utility. This research delves into the current conditions in the Western region, characterized by low gas permeability and challenging extraction in thick coal seams. Through the utilization of FLAC3D and COMSOL, simulation schemes are devised to analyze the influence of borehole parameters on fracture efficacy, elucidating the mechanisms by which external loads and internal gas pressure impact coal seam permeability. Field monitoring tests are employed to evaluate and model gas extraction enhancement via borehole positioning. The results suggest that the application of a static fracturing agent inducing 40 MPa expansion stress, along with a 75 mm borehole diameter and 0.5 m spacing, effectively fractures low-permeability thick coal seams. The spacing between extraction and fracturing holes adversely affects gas extraction efficiency due to the limited range of static fracturing. Field experiments demonstrate that static fracturing significantly improves gas extraction from low-permeability thick coal seams, resulting in a twofold increase in average gas extraction purity post-fracturing. This study establishes a robust theoretical foundation for optimizing gas extraction and mining activities in challenging low-permeability thick coal seam environments.