Impact of Open Pit Mining in Gorlovka Coal Basin on Large Earthquakes
S. B. Kishkina, G. G. Kocharyan, A. M. Budkov, G. N. Ivanchenko, D. N. Loktev
Academician Sadovsky Institute of Geosphere Dynamics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Keywords: induced seismicity, mining operations, induced earthquakes, Coulomb stress, faulting zone
Abstract
The implemented research aimed to assess the impact of open pit coal mining in Gorlovka deposit on the seismicity in the Iskitim area of the Novosibirsk Region. The seismic vibrations induced by large-scale blasting are analyzed, the seismic event potential is estimated, and the strain accumulation at a high-stress fault under seismic load is assessed. A key potential trigger was assumed as the change of the stress field parameters. Relaxation of rock mass from stresses due to formation of a pit and the extra loading of rock mass by dumps are calculated numerically and estimated analytically as two major factors of induced effect on static stresses. For the correct selection of computation parameters, the geology and the main physical/mechanical properties of rocks mass in the coal mining area are analyzed, and the main mechanical parameters of the most significant structural faults are selected.
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