Seismicity and rock burst hazard assessment in fault zones: A case study

Abstract

The coal exploitation in the Upper Silesia region (along the Vistula River) triggers the strata seismic activity, characterized by very high energy, which can create mining damage of the surface objects, without any noticeable damages in the underground mining structures. It is assumed that the appearance of the high energy seismic events is the result of faults’ activation in the vicinity of the mining excavation. This paper presents the analysis of a case study of one coal mine, where during exploitation of the longwall panel no. 729, the high energy seismic events occurred in the faulty neighborhood. The authors had analyzed the cause of the presented seismic events, described the methods of energy decreasing and applied methods of prevention in the selected mining region. The analysis concluded that the cause of the high energy seismic events, during the exploitation of the longwall panel no. 729 was the rapid displacements on the fault surface. The fault’s movements arose in the overburden, about 250 m above the excavated longwall panel, and they were strictly connected to the cracking of the thick sandstone layer.