Selecting a suitable mining method in consideration of surface subsidence caused by underground mining, safety of stope and mining recovery rate under mining and geological conditions of a certain target is very important for safe mining, protection of surface structures and minimization of coal loss.
The results of previous studies show that better results can be obtained by analyzing the surface subsidence characteristics caused by the influence of mining operations using numerical simulation methods that can well reflect the nonlinear relationship between rock mass movement and deformation parameters.
Hong Kun Ui, dean of the Faculty of Mining Engineering, numerically investigated a suitable mining method in consideration of the surface subsidence and the safety of stope by using FLAC3D and SURPAC software with a change of stope pillar size in the case of mining thick coal seams with dip of 30° by using different room and pillar methods.
The numerical simulation results showed that when the interval between stope pillars is 4m, the maximum subsidence of surface is about 2.2cm, which ensures stope safety.
He introduced his method to Kaechon coal mine and proved its reliability.
For more details, you can refer to his paper “Numerical Simulation Analysis for the Selection of Suitable Mining Method in Consideration of the Surface Subsidence and the Safety of Stope and the Mining Recovery Rate” in “Proceedings of KUTIC-2025”.