ABANDONED MINE WORKINGS AS A GEOECOLOGICAL FACTOR OF COAL MINING IN DONETS BASIN

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the work was to present the degree of influence on the geoecological situation in the Donbas of abandoned mine workings that have been preserved at the outcrops of coal seams, and the currently existing methods for assessing this influence based on studies to establish patterns of deformation of the rock mass and the earth’s surface in the zone of influence of such workings. Methodology. The work uses archival materials from the history of the development of the Donbas coal industry and the results of analytical studies of this problem over the past twenty years. Results. According to the results of the research, a number of features and patterns of deformation of the rock mass and the earth’s surface in the zone of influence of abandoned mine workings have been established/ Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty consists in establishing the causes, conditions and patterns of deformation of the rock mass over abandoned mine workings at shallow depths and in creating a fundamentally new approach to assessing the degree of danger to the earth’s surface of abandoned mine workings. Practical significance. It is possible to use the results of the conducted studies and established patterns to assess the degree of danger of such workings for the earth’s surface in the zone of their influence, as well as to develop an appropriate methodology for their assessment. Key words: active undermining, liquidation of coal mines, abandoned mine workings, mining damage, local subsidence, research results, assessment of cavity-making.