It has taken a while to properly ponder this letter recieved via Tim Farron MP for Westmorland and Furness, from Andrew Bowie, Minister for Nuclear. In it the Minister for Nuclear accuses me of “harassment” of the CEO of West Cumbria Mining – this harassment amounts to four and a half letters worth written every year since 2020 regarding the alarming and continuing appointment of the coal mine CEO to advise Government on their Delivery of a Geological Disposal Facility for heat generating nuclear wastes. The letters and petition are largely to the Dept for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, now the Dept for Energy Security and Net Zero and ask for the removal of the Coal Boss from the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management – the UK Government’s expert voice on geological disposal of nuclear wastes.
The letter and petition of almost 2000 signatures can be seen here.
The reply from Andrew Bowie Minister for Nuclear and Renewables is below with some of my comments in red.
So far the media and it has to be said NGOs have barely raised an eyebrow about this preferring to focus on climate/steel/jobs aspects of the earthquake inducing coal mine just a few miles from what is likely to be the biggest pile of plutonium in the world (the plutonium is not earmarked for a deep geological disposal facility – that would be likely to stay right where it is on the Lake District coast)
“huh whats that weird noise coming from the hole in the wall?” The boy in the bobble hat tilted his head to one side while clutching a load of Christmas shopping. It was cold today with the odd snowflake falling. “Yep its like a weird tune – dunno what it is but that red stuff is coming out thick n’ fast” said the girl through her red fluffy scarf. The children were looking at the Harbour Wall in Whitehaven which had been pouring red pollution out of a culvert for a full year or more. The authorities said there was nothing to worry about in the red stuff gushing from the honeycomb of old mines. Nothing to worry about for the health of the marine life or for humans. But looking at the pollution right now the girl and the boy weren’t so sure. There was a dead great black backed gull with wings outstretched circling slowly around in the water, like the last marshmallow in hot chocolate.
200 Years Earlier
Sweat mixed with coal dust dripped off the girl’s nose as she gripped the reins. “C’mon Flash last haul of the day.” The pony she was leading, whose coat was dapple grey under the coal dust, was pulling a heavy tram of coal on iron rails deep underground. The pony was sweating as much as the girl and ready to head back to the stable. No ordinary stable though – it was huge – for around 50 horses deep under the sea bed. Just a small part of the enormous 500 acres of this pit beneath the sea and the shore of Whitehaven. The labyrinth of deep mined tunnels connected with other pits equally huge all along the coast of Cumberland. As she neared the closed pit doors she heard the small boy humming. He worked in darkness with no light but he made up tunes in his head and hummed them to himself in the darkness waiting to open the doors for the horses. He liked Flash and the girl and gave them an extra special humming tune. In another life he would have been a musician.
Then the girl heard another noise. The man came bursting out of the darkness and tried to grab her but she pushed the lighted candle she held in her hand in his face and he staggered back. The man was a strong fellow, who a few months earlier had his life saved along with that of the lives of the girl and boy. Flash had, by some equine premonition, refused to enter a tunnel whose roof had then collapsed moments later. Now, the boy, who rarely spoke, shouted to the man “leave her alone.” Angry, the man picked up a piece of coal and forcefully hit the small boy on the head, a fatal blow.
The man was sentenced to just one months imprisonment. The boy, who received no justice in life or in death was missed by the girl and by the pony who continued their lives in the dark, deep underground and under the sea. The melodic humming of the small boy was often heard drifting through the mine tunnels by those with ears to hear.
***
An article in the local paper the Cumberland Pacquet of September 1824
““Robert Carter of Whitehaven, was charged with the killing of Peter Andrew the younger. On Friday, 10th September 1824, he approached a young driver, Susan Shaw. She told the court – I was driving a horse and tram in the pit, and the prisoner and the deceased were present. I had a candle in my hand, and Carter coming to me, I put the candle in his face, which raised his anger and he gave me a blow. He was going to his work again when Peter Andrew said: Bob Sponge, what did you strike my driver for ? I heard him in his reply speak very angry to the little boy, so his right arm swing back, and immediately I heard the little boy shout out, and I went to him, and said to Joe Lucas who was present: Robert Carter has kilt the little boy. I found the deceased standing bleeding from the head, there was a wound on his left temple. I believe the blow was given with a piece of coal.”
The above is a story inspired by the “confidence” that West Cumbria Mining have that they will begin a new mine off the coast of West Cumbria in 2024 just five miles from the world’s most dangerous nuclear waste site. A nuclear waste site vulnerable to induced earthquakes which did not exist 200 years ago when Flash the pony saved the boy, the girl and the man in the story from the coal mine roof fall. The “confidence” of West Cumbria Mining is pure hubris as their licence to drill has expired. A new application has gone in from WCM to the Coal Authority for a renewal of their three licences for underground coal mining. The applications are heavily redacted meaning that the public are denied sight of the applications by WCM. But the public CAN write to the Coal Authority and urge them not to approve West Cumbria Mining’s licences to drill. The licence applications can be viewed here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coal-mining-licence-applications/coal-mining-licence-applications
A letter has been sent with a petition of almost 2000 signatures urging the removal of the Cumbria coal mine boss from his 2019 appointment to top level nuclear dump advisor. The petition started by local artist and campaigner Marianne Birkby asks for the CEO of the first deep coal mine in the UK in 30 years to be sacked from his key role providing “invaluable advice” to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management.
CoRWM is an advisory non-departmental public body. It was established in 2003 and has a remit to provide independent scrutiny and advice to UK government and devolved administrations on the long-term management of radioactive waste, including storage and geological disposal. CoRWM provides advice to the Community GDF Partnerships.
A year ago on 7th Dec 2022 Mark Kirkbride’s coal mine was given the green light by the Secretary of State Michael Gove. At the same time the waters of Whitehaven ran red with pollution from the culvert in Queen’s Dock – this is now known to be from the honeycomb of existing mines in the area which campaigners claim may have in part or in whole been reactivated by the nuclear dump advisor’s coal mine borehole investigations and hydrological flushing. The water in Whitehaven continues to run red. Martyn Lowe from Close Capenhurst Campaign has pointed out that “the red water in the harbour is increasing not decreasing – this is a red flag for future mining.”
Campaigners point out that the advice given to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management by Mark Kirkbride includes using the same preferred suppliers such as Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines as his coal mine and say that ” this is a corruption of any semblence of democracy and is blatant government/business cronyism”. The petition calls for Mark Kirkbride to be sacked from the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management as soon as possible – currently the coal boss is due to be nuclear dump advisor until 2027.
Dear Sir Nigel Thrift, Please find attached a petition numbering 1,714 signatures.
The petition asks for the CEO of the first deep coal mine in the UK in 30 years to be sacked from his key role providing, as you have said “invaluable advice” to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management.On this day last year Mark Kirkbride’s coal mine was given the green light by the Secretary of State. At the same time the waters of Whitehaven ran red with pollution from the culvert in Queen’s Dock – this is now known to be from the honeycomb of existing mines in the area which may have in part or in whole been reactivated by CoRWM’s nuclear dump advisor’s coal mine borehole investigations and hydrological flushing. The water in Whitehaven continues to run red.
CRONYISM COAL AND NUCLEAR
In reply to a Freedom of Information Request of October 2020 you claim that “West Cumbria Mining and the business interest of Mr Kirkbride, bear no influence on the remit of CoRWM”. However our research through Freedom of Information requests has indicated that Mark Kirkbride’s business interests have undue influence on the remit of CoRWM which is to provide advice to Nuclear Waste Services and Government. One of Mark Kirkbride’s key tasks in his appointment with CoRWM is to provide advice on construction and costings of a Geological Disposal Facility for Heat Generating Nuclear Wastes.
SHARED SUPPLIER LIST
Mark Kirkbride has contributed to a 2020 thesis from the University of Manchester in which he indicates that GDF construction would use the same suppliers as his coal mine. The thesis is called “Waste Disposal Drivers for a Range of Nuclear Power Systems by Kathleen Dungan” The thesis says in Appendix B that “The following costs were sent by Mark Kirkbride (Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM)” and the costs include “shafts sunk using Herrenknecht shaft boring roadheader machines (Herrenknecht, 2020a).” In trying to distance themselves from this revelation CoRWM have claimed that Mark Kirkbride gave this information to Manchester University off his own bat – i.e. not with CoRWM’s approval. Whether it was with CoRWMs approval or not this indicates that Kirkbride’s business interests with his coal mine and the remit of CoRWM are mutually interdependent.
TUNNEL BORING MACHINES FOR DEEP MINING (COAL AND NUCLEAR)
Herrenknecht are also named as “preferred suppliers” by West Cumbria Mining – the same named suppliers Mark Kirkbride is advising CoRWM on construction of a Geological Disposal Facility. We would not be surprised to find other West Cumbria Mining “preferred suppliers” are being touted for the investigation techniques and construction of a deep nuclear dump and urge CoRWM to terminate the employment of the West Cumbria Mining CEO as their Geological Disposal Facility (nuclear dump) advisor.
GOVERNMENT LICENCE TO DRILL FOR COAL ALONGSIDE NUCLEAR PLANS
We note that Mark Kirkbride’s licence to drill for coal lapsed in October 2022 and he is looking to government via the Coal Authority to approve a new licence to drill. Clearly Mark Kirkbride cannot be government advisor and hopeful of government approval for licences for his coal mine at one and the same time. This flies in the face of any semblence of democracy and is worthy of the most corrupt of countries especially as the most favoured area for a deep nuclear dump is next to Mark Kirkbride’s business interests in West Cumbria.
At the very least Kirkbride’s contract as CoRWM advisor should be terminated
THE BEST NUCLEAR DUMP ADVISOR IN THE WORLD IS THE COAL MINE CEO? Really??
If CoRWM believe that Mark Kirkbride is the only person in the world CoRWM can turn to for advice on the deep burial of nuclear wastes (deep burial and abandonment is not accepted universally as the safest option) then surely CoRWM should make it clear to Mark Kirkbride that his business interests in West Cumbria Mining should be scrapped. INVESTIGATION In any event we are calling for an independent investigation into how this situation of cronyism has been allowed to continue for so long on what amounts to the most important issue of our time – namely the safekeeping of heat generating nuclear wastes which have to be kept separate from the biosphere into eternity in order to ensure a liveable planet.
Yours sincerely Marianne Birkby Lakes Against Nuclear Dump full address supplied
On behalf of Government, Secretary of State Michael Gove approved the coal mine on 7th December 2022. The CEO of “Woodhouse Colliery” and West Cumbria Mining is Mark Kirkbride. In 2019 Mark Kirkbride was appointed to the Government Committee on Radioactive Waste Management to advise on the UK Government’s nuclear dump plans. His appointment has been extended to 2027. Kirkbride’s “invaluable” role involves: Scrutiny and provision of advice to Government on activities relating to the continued development of a Geological Disposal Facility (hot nuclear dump) safety case Scrutiny and provision of advice to Government on GDF siting activities, including selection criteria, methods of investigation, and the timescale for carrying out site selection in the three rock types Advise on new technologies that could be applicable to the development of a GDF including those in the mining and construction sectors and their potential impacts on a GDF programme. Mark Kirkbride has recently provided costings to Government for the Delivery of a GDF (Nuclear Dump) including advice on enormous Tunnel Boring Machines from the same company (Herrenknecht) which would supply his coal mine. This is a direct conflict of interest. Mark Kirkbride has clearly advised on the hugely damaging seismic blasting which took place in August in the Irish Sea to “investigate” the complex geology for a deep nuclear dump. The enormous area of the Irish Sea in which seismic blasting took take place overlaps Kirkbride’s proposed coal mine. Mark Kirkbride’s ‘investigative boreholes’ for his coal mine may well have led to the reactivation of old mine water which has been pouring out into Whitehaven Harbour for a full year now with no end in sight. The Coal Mine Planning Inspector in his recommendation to Government stated : “the risk of a seismic event cannot be ruled out.” It is beyond belief that the CEO of a seismicity inducing coal mine near Sellafield should be employed by Government as an “invaluable” advisor on nuclear waste burial in a very deep, massive 25km square and very hot nuclear dump. We demand that Mark KIrkbride’s appointment to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management is terminated. The Cumbrian Coal Mine and the Nuclear Dump Plan are clearly Hand in Hand while Mark Kirkbride Remains as Advisor to Government. This is the dark heart of cronyism and it must stop. We urgently ask that:
Mark Kirkbride’s appointment to CoRWM is terminated
the Cronyism between Mark Kirkbride’s Coal interests and the Nuclear dump plans are investigated by an Independent Inquiry.
there should be a Moratorium on the Nuclear Dump (GDF) Plans
Connections to Russian money investigated – WCM has been bankrolled by Owen Hegarty (now a Director of WCM) who has in turn overseen Siberian coal mine interests being bankrolled by the Russian State.
The following letter was published in last weeks Whitehaven News
Dear Editor,
It’s such bad form to blow your own trumpet but I believe I was the first person in the world to set up a campaign to oppose the first deep coal mine in the UK in over 30 years (Cumbrian Climate Activists in London by Ollie Rawlinson Nov 2nd 2023). Back in 2017 at the outset of the campaign “Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole (and Nuclear Waste Out)” I remember well how utterly painful and frustrating it was trying to encourage climate activists and climate authors to oppose the mine. Invariably the answer was we “don’t have time” or “know enough” to oppose the earthquake inducing coking coal mine just a few miles from Sellafield.
The nuclear aspects of the coal mine, its guarantee of inducing earthquakes in close proximity to Sellafield, were totally airbrushed out of the mainstream narrative when climate activists did get involved. When the coal mine was approved by Cumbria County Council in 2019 the CEO of West Cumbria Mining told me at the planning meeting to “get a conscience Marianne!”
I could not have imagined in my worst nightmares that just a week later, the coal mine CEO Mark Kirkbride, would be appointed to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management to advise the UK Government on “investigation techniques, costings and construction” of a very deep, very hot and very radioactive nuclear dump adjacent to his coal mine. This hair raising scandal has been ignored for so many years and continues to be ignored.
While climate activists shout for “action” and “clean energy,” the nuclear industry and our nuclear obsessed government are only too keen to oblige. With nuclear power now calling itself “clean” and the means to brush extremely hot (literally upwards of 100 degrees c) radioactive nuclear wastes under the carpet, or in this case, the Lake District coast and the Irish Sea. It is scary that ‘climate activists’ in Cumbria repeatedly fail to oppose the nuclear industry (which is one of the North Wests biggest users of fossil fuel) and fail to challenge the industry’s Orwellian claim on the word “clean.”
Cumbria is being pushed ever closer to an ever more toxic nuclear future that could return us to a time when the planet was too radioactive for life. Coal and nuclear are now hand in glove in Cumbria but only nuclear has the brass neck to claim it is “clean”. 55,000 people have signed a petition against coal boss Mark Kirkbride’s advice on “investigation techniques” for a nuclear dump which has seen devastating seismic blasting with “unusal” deaths of harbour porpoises, dolphins, pilot whale and more https://www.change.org/p/save-the-whale-and-the-snail-stop-nuclear-waste-services-blasting-the-irish-sea. Hundreds have signed a petition to reclaim the word “clean” from the nuclear industry Petition: Stop calling uranium mined fuels “clean energy”. Will climate activists widen their gaze in Cumbria? To continue to ignore the very hot and very radioactive nuclear elephant in the room (held up as a “solution”) is to guarantee extinction.
Chris Packham was filming in Whitehaven today – I wonder if he mentioned any of this?
Sent today…
An Open Letter to the Coal Authority (an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero). and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
Dear Coal Authority and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office,
The first deep coal mine in the UK in 30 years announced on May 16th that “we have now successfully closed out a new multimillion pound funding package” What they fail to reveal is where the “multimillion pound” investment is coming from. The initial millions largely spent on public relations and investigative boreholes came from EMR Capital whose owner Owen Hegarty is now a director of West Cumbria Mining. Owen Hegarty also has coal mines in Siberia which have been bankrolled to the tune of tens of millions of pounds both by the Russian State and by Russian equity bank Baring Vostok whose investors have just left prison in Russia after fraud sentences. This all begs the question given the UK Government’s current war footing with Russia why hasn’t the Foreign Office stepped in to investigate West Cumbria Mining’s clear links with Russian State investment through Owen Hegarty?
West Cumbria Mining’s update also fails to mention that their conditional licence from the Coal Authority lapsed in October 2022. The Coal Authority have told us that they have not received a new licence application. The fact that the Coal Authority are even considering giving a new licence to drill to West Cumbria Mining is breathtaking given that the House of Lords called for a ban on any new licences being issued for coal mines. The Coal Authority is also now tasked with looking into the ongoing and seemingly unstoppable pollution pouring into Whitehaven harbour from historic mines which have been newly activated by disturbance. West Cumbria Mining’s extensive borehole and water flushing investigations above Whitehaven cannot be ruled out in part or in whole as a catalyst for Whitehaven Harbour running red with a toxic burden of metals and other pollutants. The honeycomb of mines in Whitehaven includes the Anhydrite mine which West Cumbria Mining wanted to dewater of its uranium, acids and metal contaminated water in order to use this as access to the sub-sea area off Whitehaven. The Environment Agency said this would be too dangerous to marine life. Another bizarre twist in the tale is that the coal mine CEO who wanted to dangerously dewater the old Anhydrite mine into the Irish Sea is also tasked (by the same government department who sponsor the Coal Authority) with advising Government on investigation techniques, construction and costings for a sub-sea nuclear dump euphemistically called a Geological Disposal Facility. This investigation includes seismic blasting of the Irish Sea which has already taken place over the heads of the public despite a petition of over 50,000 signatures.
We urge the Foreign Office to fully investigate West Cumbria Mining’s Russian connections through EMR Capital and Owen Hegarty.
We urge the Coal Authority to honour the House of Lords call for a ban on any new coal mine licences being issued in the UK. That an earthquake inducing new coal mine should have even been considered so close to Sellafield is utterly reckless with public safety – this could put climate concerns on the back foot.
We urge an inquiry into the dark cronyism surrounding the appointment of the CEO of West Cumbria Mining, Mark Kirkbride, to the position of Government advisor on Geological Disposal of High Level Nuclear Wastes, his coal mine lies between the nuclear dump target areas of Mid Copeland and Allerdale.
Yours sincerely
Marianne Birkby
Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole – a Radiation Free Lakeland campaign.
The facebook group Pit Crack West Cumbria is featuring poems promoting West Cumbria Mining (at any cost it seems) and ridiculing Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole and ‘Green Marianne’ hey ho.
Any way here is a little poem in reply to Pit Crack Cumbria I’ve just tried to post on the facebook group but it was blocked. Here it is.
Pit Cracked Cumbria
The Cavalry is Here
Its West Cumbria Mining
Currently Focussed on Coal
But thats Just a Blinding
The Big Money’s on Nuclear
The Hole would be Deep
Deeper than Scafell is high
n’ Fifteen Miles Square Peeps
with Artificial Intelligence
Giant Moles Underground
Creep Creep Creep
Who Cares if the Water’s Acid Orange
In the Harbour -“Give us New Coal”
Is the Nostalgic Clamour.
Dripping with Memories of Days
Long Ago Where the Axe and the Blast
Will No Longer Go. Now it is Massive
Tunnel Boring Machines Giant Moles
Massive Dust and Damage Aglow
Its all climate friendly and clean clean CLEAN dontcha know
Letter sent to the Planning Inspector Stephen Normington who is due to make a decision on the coal mine any day now….
Dear Mr Normington,
Hope this email finds you well. There is some new material evidence re the coal mine.
Even Facebook it seems could not believe the ‘story’ that 42 houses were to be approved (now approved!) for the Marchon site. Does this mean that Copeland Council believe the mine will not go ahead as who in their right mind would vote unanimously for new houses atop the first deep coal mine in the UK in 30 years?
with kind regards
Marianne Birkby Radiation Free Lakeland who run the Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole campaign
This is what happened when I tried to share the Whitehaven News story on our fb group with the comment “insane new house build plan adjacent to coal mine – apart from the fact that the Marchon site is polluted from decades of sulphuric acid producion the noise from the coal mine (if approved by Michael Gove) would be equivalent to continous blasting (rock bolter machines etc underground) at a peak particle velocity of 6mm – the point at which people complain of noise is 1mm (or below) – the mine would cause subsidence and induce earthquakes – this is not alleged – it is fact”
The following letter has just been sent to the Coal Mine Planning Inspector Mr Stephen Normington following a letter from the Rt Hon Greg Hands, Minister of State for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change (this Govnt department appointed the coal mine boss as “invaluable” nuclear dump advisor).
Dear Planning Inquiry Inspector Mr Stephen Normington,
Happy New Year to you and yours.
We, Radiation Free Lakeland (who run the Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole campaign) are aware that you will shortly be making a recommendation to the Secretary of State on West Cumbria Mining’s coal mine plan.
We would like to draw your attention to a letter (attached) we have received from the Rt Hon Greg Hands, Minister of State for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change. The reply is to our letter requesting that, should the coal mine be approved by government, then a seismic Traffic Light System at least as stringent as that for the oil and gas industry should be part of the conditions imposed. The empirical evidence (presented by Radiation Free Lakeland at the Planning Inquiry) is unequivocal in its findings that coal mining produces earthquakes of far greater magnitude and frequency than that of fracking. Despite this Greg Hands MP states that there will be no Traffic Light System for the coal mine.
In tandem with the absence of a seismic Traffic Light System is the outrageous allowance of 6mm/s Peak Particle Velocity as agreed by the Inquiry’s Rule 6 Parties and Developer for ground movements as a result of the deep mining proposed. As you will be aware the PPV at which “receptors” will make complaints is 1mm/s.
An observer of the bulk of the Planning Inquiry would have had no idea of the uniquely dangerous sense of place regarding the planned coal mine. If this same coal mine was anywhere in the world the climate impacts would be the same. But this coal mine is not anywhere in the world. It is five miles from Sellafield, the worlds riskiest nuclear waste site, under the arguably most radioactively contaminated sea in the world and directly beneath the radioactively contaminated Cumbrian Mud Patch.
You will see In his reply to us the Minister answers a question we did not ask – namely the use of the coal mine as a nuclear dump – no one in their right mind would think of using a coal mine as a nuclear dump, our concerns lay with the undeniable connections/cronyism between the coal mine and the proposed Geological Disposal Facility.
The Government’s refusal to consider a seismic Traffic Light System for the earthquake inducing coal mine is a case in point.
Mark Kirkbride the CEO of West Cumbria Mining was appointed in 2019 as an “invaluable” adviser to the Government (Committee on Radioactive Waste Management) on the digging of big holes for a Geological Disposal Facility for Heat Generating Nuclear Wastes and for shallower Near Surface Disposal of Low and Intermediate Level Nuclear Wastes.
We are painfully aware, as no doubt is government nuclear dump advisor Mark Kirkbride, that a seismic Traffic Light System for an earthquake inducing deep undersea coal mine would also impact negatively on the facilitation of an even deeper hole for a GDF. The Irish Sea area adjacent to the coal mine is in the frame for a GDF.
We urge you to take all these related issues into consideration and emphatically advise refusal for the deep coal mine which is far more than the sum of its (more widely reported) climate/jobs parts. Should this coal mine go ahead the people and environment of Cumbria and the planet WILL be exposed to deep radiological, immediate and irreversible impacts that will make the more widely reported and not to be sneezed at climate impacts pale into insignificance.
The whole thing feels like a massive stitch up in which the climate issues have been used as a smoke screen to hide the nuclear impacts of this coal mine. If Leonardo DiCaprio (of “Don’t Look Up” fame) thinks climate campaigners have it bad he should walk a mile in the shoes of nuclear safety campaigners!
Please ensure the safety of Cumbria and the planet by emphatically advising refusal for this out of control deep coal mine five miles from Sellafield.
Thank You.
Yours sincerely,
Marianne Birkby Radiation Free Lakeland who run the Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole campaign
Why are the seismic and subsidence issues being ignored by NGOs and media? That is for them to answer. Whatever the reason the ongoing silence it is putting us all at immediate danger of an unlivable radioactively contaminated environment.
This is the latest in the extensive evidence on earthquakes caused by deep coal mining …
Different from the shallow coal seam, in deep mining, the dynamic response of overlying rock has changed significantly due to the high in-situ stresses and complex geological conditions. The frequent occurrence of strong mine earthquakes seriously restricts the safe and efficient mining of deep coal resources. This paper investigates the distribution and evolution of strong mining earthquakes during the process of deep coal seam mining in Dongtan coal mine of China by means of the microseismic monitoring and surface subsidence monitoring technologies. Results show that strong mine earthquakes occurring in the 1st square of the single goaf in each working face take the largest proportion. Most of the mine earthquakes are basically concentrated in the lower hard rock layer in the early mining stage. As the working face advances, mine earthquakes primarily rise straightly to the far-field hard layers. In the early stage of coal mining, the frequency of earthquakes is significantly high. After the mine earthquake goes into the higher hard strata, the frequency of strong mine earthquakes in lower layers decreases. The strong mine earthquake occurs with higher probability when the surface subsidence rate changes rapidly. When multiple layers of hard rock exist, the overburden fracture behaviors become complicated. A large energy mine earthquake in far-field overlying hard strata during deep coal mining is generally caused by the coordinated fracture of multi-strata, which can be reflected by the waveform of mine earthquakes.
Article highlights
The distribution and evolution of strong mine earthquakes during the process of deep coal seam mining are investigated.
As the working face advances, mine earthquakes primarily rise straightly from low field hard strata to the far field.
The strong mine earthquake wave characteristics and surface subsidence behaviors when the earthquake occurs are also investigated.
Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole 