Key technologies and engineering practices for soft-rock protective seam mining

Severe gas disasters in deep mining areas are increasing, and traditional protective coal seam mining is facing significant challenges. This paper proposes an innovative technology using soft rock as the protective seam in the absence of an appropriate coal seam. Based on the geological engineering conditions of the new horizontal first mining area of Luling Coal Mine in Huaibei, China, the impacts of different mining parameters of the soft-rock protective seam on the pressure-relief effect of the protected coal seam were analyzed through numerical simulation. The unit stress of the protected coal seam, which was less than half of the primary rock stress, was used as the mining stress pressure-relief index. The optimized interlayer space was found to be 59 m for the first soft-rock working face, with a 2 m mining thickness and 105 m face length. The physicochemical characteristics of the orebody were analyzed, and a device selection framework for the soft-rock protective seam was developed. Optimal equipment for the working face was selected, including the fully-mechanized hydraulic support and coal cutter. A production technology that combined fully-mechanized and blasting-assisted soft-rock mining was developed. Engineering practices demonstrated that normal circulation operation can be achieved on the working face of the soft-rock protective seam, with an average advancement rate of 1.64 m/d. The maximum residual gas pressure and content, which were measured at the cut hole position of the protected coal seams (Nos. 8 and 9), decreased to 0.35 MPa and 4.87 m3/t, respectively. The results suggested that soft-rock protective seam mining can produce a significant gas-control effect.