China Coal News | Developing Real-Time Seismic Monitoring Technology for Accurate Geological Hazard Detection

Recently, the real-time seismic monitoring technology along with mining/excavation, independently developed by CCTEG Xi’an Research Institute, was successfully applied for the first time at Shandong Energy Luxi Mining.

This technology provides an intelligent and precise advanced detection solution for identifying hidden geological hazards in coal mine excavation and mining faces. Overcoming the limitations of traditional explosive seismic sources, the real-time seismic monitoring technology along with mining or excavation offers advantages such as safety, environmental friendliness, low cost, simultaneous excavation/detection, long-exposure high precision, and real-time data acquisition and processing. By utilizing seismic waves generated by mining and excavation machinery, it can detect static geological conditions (e.g., faults, collapse columns, and coal seam thinning zones) within 200 meters ahead of the working face, as well as monitor and provide early warnings for dynamic hazards (e.g., roof fracture zones, stress concentration areas, and outburst-prone zones) caused by excavation disturbances. This marks a leap from static detection to dynamic monitoring in mine seismology.

During its first application in the north rail roadway excavation at Lilou Coal Mine, where the geological structure ahead was previously unknown, the system accurately identified geological anomalies within 150 meters of the tunnel face, significantly reducing exploration uncertainties. It also monitored real-time changes in geological structures and stress distribution near the excavation zone. The system successfully predicted 12 anomalies, all of which were later confirmed, with a positioning accuracy exceeding 97%. This enables timely warnings of underground safety risks, providing strong technical support for safe and efficient roadway excavation.