Land subsidence risk assessment and protection in mined-out regions

Abstract

Land subsidence due to underground mining is an important hazard that causes large damages and threatens to social and economic activities. The China government has started a national project to estimate the risk of land subsidence in the main coal production provinces, such as Heilongjiang, Anhui and Shanxi Provinces. Herein, the investigation methods for land subsidence identification were reported, some types of land settlement are summarized, and some successful engineering measures to mitigate the subsidence are discussed. A Geographical Information System (GIS) for land subsidence risk assessment is developed and is based on site investigations and numerrical simulation of the subsidence process. In this system, maps of mining intensity and risk ranks are developed.