Variabilities in Hard Coal Production and Methane Emission in the MysЕ‚owice-WesoЕ‚a Mine
M. Dreger1,2
1University of Silesia, Katowice, 40-007 Poladn
2Institute of Earth Sciences, Sosnowiec, 41-200 Poland
Keywords: The Upper Silesian Coal Basin, methane emissions, MysЕ‚owice-WesoЕ‚a mine, Polish Mining Group, hard coal output
Abstract
Hard coal production is a strategic branch of the Polish economy. The exploitation processes at greater depths encounter natural hazards, such as methane hazard. The Mysłowice-Wesoła mine is located in the largest coal basin in Poland-the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB). Methane concentration increases with depth in this area of the studied basin. During the period of gas research, the volume of emitted methane increased over 5 times. This large increase in methane liberation to the mining faces was caused by many factors, including complex tectonic characteristics of the area, permeable nature of the Książ Fault, varied geological structure, higher concentration of coal extraction. The overall study of coal output for the years 1994-2018 follows the entire Polish hard coal production trend, namely, slow, yet constant coal extraction decrease. The total coal output in the Mysłowice-Wesoła mine decreased more than twice with simultaneous increased methane emission.
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