A preliminary discrimination model of a deep mining landslide and its application in the Guanwen coal mine

Irrational coal exploitation under mountainous areas commonly results in deep mining landslide disasters, which can cause unpredictable catastrophic destruction and massive casualties. In order to prevent deep mining landslides induced by underground coal mining, a mechanical model for mining overburden failure, a preliminary discrimination model of deep mining landslides, is established for the very first time based on some simplifying assumptions. A deep mining landslide occurs when one or more sets of strata interfaces or discontinuities near the slope surface are involved in the mining-induced overburden fracture zone. The discrimination model is verified using FLAC3D numerical simulation studies on the inclined multiple coal seam Guanwen coal mine, which is located in southern Sichuan province and possess a typical medium mountain landform. In the absence of adequate practical applications, further study is still necessary to be conducted to improve the discrimination model.