Leveraging Technology to Identify Hidden Hazards and Precisely Prevent Disasters for Enhanced Safety—The Geophysical Exploration Institute Launches a Comprehensive Survey of Hidden Disaster-Inducing Factors in Coal Mines

Since January 2025, entrusted by the client, the Geophysical Exploration Institute has dispatched a number of experienced technical specialists in geology, geophysics, and related fields to conduct a comprehensive survey of hidden disaster-causing factors in certain coal mines in Linshui County, Guang'an City, achieving remarkable results. This effort has helped shift mine safety management toward “proactive prevention” and laid a solid foundation for safe mining production.

Follow the latest census standards to ensure the census is scientifically sound and effective.

On November 1, 2024, the "Standard for Surveying Hidden Disaster-Inducing Factors in Mines" (KA/T22-2024) was officially put into effect. This standard specifies the content and scope of surveys for seven major categories of disaster-inducing factors, including mined-out areas in coal mines and geological structures. Given that this standard has been released and implemented relatively recently, to ensure that the survey work is carried out with high quality and efficiency, the Institute of Geophysical Exploration promptly organized a systematic training session and safety briefing for all technical staff members of the team, ensuring that the survey work is conducted strictly in accordance with the standard, scientifically and comprehensively, and that the survey results can provide a solid scientific basis for subsequent remediation efforts.

Technology empowers precise disaster prevention and comprehensively enhances safety levels.

The coal mine geological conditions in the Linshui area of Guang'an City are complex, and the existing data are extensive and intricate, posing numerous obstacles to the survey work. Faced with these challenges, the project team’s technical staff did not back down; instead, they carefully compared every single piece of data. By comprehensively employing scientific methods—including surface and underground geophysical exploration, surface and underground geological surveys, uniaxial compressive strength tests on rock samples, and determination of water-conducting fracture zones in the floor strata caused by mining—team members repeatedly ventured deep into underground tunnels and conducted on-site investigations both on the mine’s surface and underground. This approach enabled them to advance the survey work in a comprehensive and meticulous manner.

During the investigation of mined-out areas and abandoned shafts, the project team employed both ground-based transient electromagnetic methods and mine-based transient electromagnetic equipment to process and interpret data from nearly 2,000 geophysical survey points. Combined with on-site drilling verification, they accurately mapped the distribution of water-rich zones in the mined-out areas, enabling early detection and timely handling of potential hazards and providing crucial evidence for subsequent remediation efforts.

For geological structure exploration, the project team has further strengthened field investigations based on existing data. Through surface and underground explorations, they have precisely mapped geological structures such as faults, fractures, and collapse columns, and conducted in-depth analyses of their impacts on coal mining operations.

The investigation into water hazards and the roof and floor conditions is equally meticulous and thorough. The water-hazard investigation covers both water bodies and water-conducting pathways within and outside the mining rights area. In the preliminary stage, the transient electromagnetic method was employed in mine shafts to detect accumulated water in mined-out areas, while borehole imaging was used to determine the water-conducting fracture zones induced by mining in the floor.

Significant achievements pave the way for development; experience guides technological upgrades.

By conducting a comprehensive survey of hidden disaster-causing factors in selected coal mines in Linshui County, Guang'an City, the project team collected and analyzed over 150 pieces of previous data and drawings, produced more than 50 detailed and accurate geological maps, and prepared two comprehensive and reliable survey reports totaling over 110,000 characters. These findings provide a solid geological basis for the coal mines’ safety production planning over the next three to five years, thereby strongly promoting the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of mining enterprises.

In the future, the Institute of Geophysical Exploration will continue to deepen diversified integrated projects such as “hidden hazard surveys + mine development,” actively promote the practical application of new mining technologies like intelligent hazard identification, and expand into new application areas for both coal mines and non-coal mines. We will contribute our professional expertise to building modern mines that are “geologically transparent and inherently safe!”

Executive Producer | Yu Changheng

Reviewed by | Zou Zhongping

Editor-in-charge | Zhou Huiying

Text | Zhang Zhengpeng

Figure | Project Department

Editor | Wang Yuchen