In the case of underground mining of coal seams, at present, for various reasons, a significant amount of already uncovered and prepared reserves in the form of local areas remains in the subsurface, which significantly reduces the efficiency of coal mining. Especially acute in terms of economic and environmental factors is the problem of development of local areas of powerful coal seams. In industrially developed regions of the country with high population density and developed infrastructure, where large mining and processing complexes are located, the urgent problem is the disposal of mass industrial and domestic wastes. The developed integrated technology of mining local areas of powerful coal seams with placement of solid domestic and mass industrial wastes in the mined-out space makes it possible to effectively mine the remaining reserves with simultaneous improvement of the ecological situation in the region.
The study of rational technologies of underground coal mining at thin and medium capacity mines allows recommending the mining technology combining coal extraction with other processes, for example, with the placement of solid industrial and domestic waste in the mine face. The described methods of down-cutting and chamber and pillar method provide an opportunity to realize integration processes that allow to extract additional reserves, reduce the environmental load and social tension in the regions.
