Geologic factors in predicting coal mine roof-rock stability in the upper Kittanning coalbed, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Report of investigations

Technical Report · Sun Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:5694091

Iannacchione, A T; Ulery, J P; Hyman, D M; Chase, F E

Roof-rock instability in advancing sections of underground coal mines is a major contributing factor to accidents resulting in fatalities and injuries. Such roof-rock conditions can also result in loss of production due to additional cleanup time and increased amounts of reject material. The Bureau of Mines is investigating fundamental geologic factors affecting coal mine roof-rock instability in order to develop techniques to predict zones of potential unstable roof-rock. Two distinct directional trends of unstable shale roof-rock in a mine working the Upper Kittanning Coalbed are delineated: one trend is associated with the sandstone-shale transition zone, the other with a fault system. The unstable shale roof-rock associated with the transition zone, a consequence of differential compaction, is comprised of slickensided roof-rock. Whereas, the unstable shale roof-rock associated with the fault system, a consequence of structural deformation of the strata, is comprised of fault planes. These faults, small in comparison to the sandstone-shale transition zone, are difficult to delineate with a standard drilling program. Trends of the transition zone associated with the sedimentary facies change are projected into unmined portions of the coalbed with the aid of exploration core data.

• Research Organization: Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, PA (USA). Pittsburgh Research Center
• OSTI ID: 5694091
• Report Number(s): PB-82-145376
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
011000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
012000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Mining
CENTRAL REGION
COAL MINES
DEFORMATION
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS
MINES
MINING
NORTH AMERICA
PENNSYLVANIA
ROOFS
SITE SURVEYS
STABILITY
STRATA CONTROL
SURVEYS
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
UNDERGROUND MINING
USA