Underground

Regional Ground Movement on Bedding Planes and Potential Impacts to Groundwater

Bedding plane shears are horizons within rock strata along which sliding movements occur. They develop as a result of natural processes but can be remobilised, or even created, by differential ground movements associated with subsidence from mining. Their low strength in shear and lateral ....  read more

Fire Resilience of Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone

Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone (THPSS) consist of natural ephemeral and permanent swamps. These swamps support distinctive vegetation that depends on soil water availability as well as organic rich sediments and can assist with carbon capture and storage. These swamps also ....  read more

Southern Coalfield Coal Washery Reject (CWR) Characterisation and Classification, including management strategies for applications in Civil Engineering

With growing emphasis on Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) across the Australian coal mining sector, there is opportunity to reduce the disposal of Coal Washery Rejects (CWR) and increase its beneficial use as an economic resource in both mining and municipal construction and ....  read more

Swamp hydrology modelling for advancing rehabilitation planning and management

Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone (THPSS) consist of both ephemeral (natural ephemeral) and permanent swamps, which are a distinctive feature of highlands in the Sydney Basin Bioregion. These swamps support distinctive vegetation which rely on high soil water content and organic ....  read more

Water Tracer Tools for Optimisation of Water Management for Coal Mines

This project provides practical information and demonstration of water tracers used in the mining industry, with a particular focus on underground coal mining. Water tracers can contribute to reducing risks during mining operations, provide valuable information to reduce and mitigate ....  read more

Reducing Brine Volume through Membrane Distillation Crystalliser

Mines prioritise their water use strategies not just because it is a limited shared resource, but also to achieve environmentally safe discharge after use. Water treatment is already adopted in various coal mines and a greater emphasis is placed by the Government for more water treatment and ....  read more

Site Trial and Demonstration of Integrated Forward and Reverse Osmosis for Mine Water Reuse

The forward osmosis (FO) process, also known as direct osmosis, is an emerging membrane technology for water reuse and desalination. The driving force for the FO process is the osmotic gradient between the two solutions on either side of the membrane, which induces the water permeation across ....  read more

Impacts of Mine Subsidence on the Strata & Hydrology of River Valleys: Management for Undermining Cliffs, Gorges & River Systems

THIS REPORT IS PROVIDED AS A SET, COMPRISING C8005, C9067 & C18015

Since March 1999, original research work has been carried out to study the impacts of underground coal mining on creeks, river valleys, gorges and clifflines.

Numerous longwall extractions have already been ....  read more

Impacts of Mine Subsidence on the Strata & Hydrology of River Valleys - Management for Undermining Cliffs Gorges & River Systems

THIS REPORT IS PROVIDED AS A SET, COMPRISING C8005, C9067 & C18015

ACARP Has funded work since March 1999, in order to gain a better understanding of the impacts of underground coal mining on creeks, river valleys, gorges and clifflines. The research work was funded in two stages and the ....  read more

Standardised Subsidence Information Management System

As an empirically-based discipline of engineering/science, subsidence engineering and its related risk assessment/management practices rely on the nature, quality, quantity and extent of subsidence monitoring data and, importantly, how the collected data are organised so that it can be ....  read more

The Inclusion of High Interest Native Plants in Mine Site Restoration Programs: Propagation, Translocation and Field Re-introduction

The comprehensive research conducted throughout both stages of this project culminated in the first translocation trial on a mining lease for two Endangered Persoonia species. Both Persoonia hindii and Persoonia hirsuta are a critical component to post-mining ....  read more

Change Detection in Complex Vegetation Communities

This project develops and demonstrates methods to introduce UAV sourced remote sensing products for monitoring and reporting change in complex vegetation communities. Multicamera rigs collecting single narrow spectral bands reconstructed the most complete tree canopy models while providing ....  read more

Impact of Mine Subsidence on Threatened Ecological Communities

The aim of this project was to develop and implement integrated remote sensing and field survey to quantify the impacts of longwall mine subsidence (LWMS) on Bluegrass and Brigalow, Threatened Ecological Communities (TEC). The methods and results are anticipated to permit broader extrapolation ....  read more

The Prediction of Mining Induced Movements in Building Structures and the Development of Improved Methods of Subsidence Impact Assessment

Original research work has been underway since March 2003, in order to gain a better understanding of the impacts of underground coal mining on building structures.

The major aims of this research project were to develop improved methods of assessing the likely damage to building ....  read more

Effects of Mine Subsidence, Geology and Surface Topography on Observed Valley Closure Movements and Development of an Updated Valley Closure Prediction Method

This report is provided as a set, comprising C8005, C9067 and C18015.

This report combines information that was presented in project reports C8005, C9067 in 2002 reports, presents new valley closure monitoring data and provides information on field work that ....  read more

Monitoring Surface Condition of Upland Swamps Subject To Mining Subsidence with Very High-resolution Imagery

The project investigated the potential of small UAV platforms to capture imagery of the shrub swamp communities to develop monitoring tools for detecting change in condition and composition that may be correlated to the impacts of longwall underground mining.

The project demonstrated ....  read more

Dust Monitoring Methodology (Inhalable and Respirable Dust Level)

Informative and reliable dust monitoring plays an important role in identifying dust issues in underground coal mines and subsequently the development of effective mitigation strategies. NSW mining industry has a long record of dust sampling provided by Coal Services Pty Ltd. This testing ....  read more

Reducing the Impact of Longwall Extraction on Groundwater Systems

The Australian coal mining industry is under increasingly intense public and political scrutiny because its license to operate is linked with unprecedented social and environmental accountability. Much of this accountability is associated with water management to ensure that the mine operations ....  read more

Effects of Surface Topography on Mining Subsidence Damage to River Channels

Longwall mining has for some time been recognised to cause perceptible horizontal movements well outside the area of active mining. Substantial coal resources have been sterilised in providing barriers to protect surface features that are sensitive to such movements. This project investigated ....  read more

Monitoring the Effect of Longwall Mine Subsidence on Native Vegetation and Agricultural Environments

The aim of this project was to develop methods and tools to assist the coal industry to better monitor the consequences of longwall mine subsidence (LWMS) on surface environments.  The project focus was to improve monitoring quality and potentially reduce costs through the incorporation of ....  read more

Effects of Mine Water Salinity on Freshwater Biota: Investigations of Coal Mine Water Discharge in NSW

Seepage of water from aquifers into the workings of coal mines often requires large amounts of water to be pumped to the surface. This water if often used for coal washing with or without augmentation from stormwater. The mixture contains elevated concentrations of dissolved salts and metals ....  read more

Damage Criteria and Practical Solutions for Protecting River Channels

The coal industry is seeking to better understand the nature of mining induced subsidence impacts on river systems and practical ways that these impacts can be managed without unnecessarily sterilising valuable coal resources. To further this understanding, the industry, through the Australian ....  read more

Tracer Gas to Measure Vertical Overburden Conductivity Above Extraction Panels

Longwall coal mining at shallow depths has many mining and environmental issues related to subsidence.  The issues range from mining impacts caused by ventilation and spontaneous combustion to environmental impacts created from the release of goaf gas and hydrological issues.  A ....  read more

Hydrogeological Response to Longwall Mining

Reliable prediction and management of mining induced water inflows and aquifer interference is a major emerging challenge confronting the industry. The Australian coal mining industry is facing intense public and political scrutiny and hence is required to operate with unprecedented ....  read more

GIS-Based Decision Support Methodology for the Assessment of the Impacts of Mining Subsidence

The objectives of this project were to develop and demonstrate practical decision support methodology for the assessment of the impacts of mining subsidence on natural features. The decision support tools were developed within the flexibility of the Geographic Information System (GIS) ....  read more

Techniques to Predict and Measure Subsidence and Its Impacts on the Groundwater Regime above Shallow Longwalls

This project investigated cracking associated with shallow longwalls using case studies from Beltana and Crinum Mines. The project trialed a number of techniques to measure the onset of subsidence and its impacts in terms of cracking.

The combination of tilt meters attached ....  read more

Feasibility Study of Subsidence Control using Overburden Grout Injection Technology

This project aimed to assess the feasibility  of significantly reducing longwall mining subsidence by applying the overburden grout injection technology originally developed and used in China. A key task of the project was to develop a cost-effective and flexible overburden grout ....  read more

Monitoring Ground Subsidence due to Underground Mining Using Integrated Space Geodetic Techniques

Mine subsidence is the lowering or collapse of the land surface, caused by underground mining activity. Mine subsidence is of major concern to the coal mining industry, government regulators, and environmental groups.

Subsidence is currently monitored by repeated ground survey ....  read more

Review of Industry Subsidence Data in Relation to the Influence of Overburden Lithology on Subsidence and an Initial Assessment of a Sub-Surface Fracturing Model for Groundwater Analysis

A detailed review of available mine subsidence data collected over longwall panels within the Newcastle Coalfield and an empirical subsidence prediction methodology has been developed by Strata Engineering (Australia) Pty Ltd.

The subsidence review included the collation of ....  read more

Effect of Longwall Mine Subsidence on Plant Production on Cropping Land

The effect of longwall mine subsidence on crop yield and critical soil factors affecting plant growth were investigated in central Queensland to improve the understanding of subsidence on agricultural production. To achieve this, specific objectives were to:

Remediation of Saline Water from Coal Mining

The overall objective of this scoping study is the identification of an affordable process which will treat the typical saline water produced by the coal industry. The process may produce water of quality suitable for use or discharge and provide a disposal solution for the contained salts. ....  read more

Utilising Flyash Paste Backfill

Society is in transition to a policy of sustainability - a long term approach that emphasises the efficient use of resources. To continue in business and minimise the negative commercial impacts of Government policies and taxes, industry has to engage its stakeholders and develop technologies ....  read more

Understanding the Biology and Ecology of Vulnerable Plant Species: Case Study with Tetratheca Juncea occurring over Coal Leases

Tetratheca juncea Smith (Tremandraceae) is a vulnerable species listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act (Schedule 2, TSC Act 1995), and in the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The species occurs on the central coast of New South Wales ....  read more

Environmental Risks of Soluble Hydrolic Oil in Mine Water Discharge

Soluble oil produced from underground coal mines is not an environmental risk unless there is a substantial spill.  Soluble hydraulic oil is an integral component in all longwall coal mining operations and is typically used as a five percent solution with water. The daily quantity used in ....  read more