Britannia rules the seismic waves
When a longwall mining operation penetrates an unforeseen discontinuity in the coal seam, all hell breaks loose. Productivity plummets while the shearer cuts through rock, and the high proportion of reject material overwhelms the preparation plant. And, if the discontinuity is large enough, the face may have to be abandoned. To avert such catastrophies, a technique developed in Britain for mapping the presence of discontinuities has been applied in the Meigs No. 1 mine of the Southern Ohio Coal Co. in Athens, Ohio. The technology, called in-seam seismic surveying, is similar to seismic exploration in the oil and gas industry. The principle of the in-seam survey is simple: A shock wave is sent through the coal seam. If there is a sandstone channel or a displacement fault in the seam, the sound waves will be reflected back and can be picked up by geophones. Conversely, geophones installed on the opposite side of a channel or fault will not pick up the sound waves (see box). Seismic surveys have been made for four years by Britain's National Coal Board (NCB), and were developed because practically all its production is from longwall mining, and knowing what lies ahead is critical. And with about 500 ft between longwall entries there's a large amount of unpenetrated seam to contain hidden discontinuities. Hence the interest in in-seam seismic surveys.
- OSTI ID:
- 6849250
- Journal Information:
- Coal Age; (United States), Vol. 89:4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
58 GEOSCIENCES
COAL SEAMS
SEISMIC SURVEYS
LONGWALL MINING
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
OHIO
COAL MINES
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
SEISMIC WAVES
WAVE PROPAGATION
COAL DEPOSITS
FEDERAL REGION V
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MINES
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCES
SURVEYS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND MINING
USA
012000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Mining
580203 - Geophysics- Geophysical Survey Methods- (1980-1989)