Roof Rockmass Characterization in an Illinois Underground Coal Mine

Among all United States underground coal fields, those in Illinois have the highest rate of roof fall events due to their weak and severely moisture sensitive roof rock units. Rockmass characterization is the key initial step in designing safe and economical roof control measures in underground coal mines. In this study, a performance-based roof rockmass characterization is investigated. The geologic conditions as well as underground mine geographic specifications, roof fall analysis, mining method, utilized supplemental roof control measures, and geotechnical properties of roof rock units were considered to link the roof performance to rockmass characterization. The coal mine roof rating (CMRR) rockmass characterization method was used to evaluate the roof conditions and roof support design for an underground coal mine located in the Illinois Coal Basin. The results of several mine visit mappings, laboratory test results, and geotechnical issues and concerns are presented and discussed. The roof support designs are analyzed based on the rockmass characterization and are compared with the observed performance. This study shows that (1) CMRR index is a reasonable method for characterizing roof rockmass; (2) moisture sensitivity and bedding strengths in the horizontal direction are essential parameters for roof support design in mines with weak roof conditions; and (3) the applicability of the analysis of roof bolt system for roof support design of the studied mine is questionable.