Numerical modeling of open pit (OP) to underground (UG) transition in coal mining

The primary objective of the present paper is an attempt at evaluating the influence of sub-level caving operations on the slope stability of a still-functioning open pit coal mine in Vietnam. Initially, various methods of predicting the impact of underground mining on surface stability are discussed. Those theoretical considerations were later utilized in the process of constructing a Flac-2D-software-based numerical model for calculating the influence of underground operation on the deformation and possible loss of stability of an open pit slope. The numerical analysis proved that the values of open pit slope displacements were affected mainly by underground exploitation depth, direction of operation (i.e., from one slope to the other) and the distance from the slope plane. Real geomechanical strata parameters from the Vietnamese coal basin of Cam Pha were used in the modeling process. The paper is, therefore, a critical review of the hitherto proposed methods of predicting the impact of underground operation (UG) on open pit mining (OP), illustrated with selected examples of case studies on OP-UG interaction, followed by an original experiment based on numerical modeling method. This is first such study for the genuine conditions of the coal mining in Vietnam. The obtained results, however, should not be generalized due to a highly specific character of the analyzed phenomenon of mining-induced surface deformation. The practical implications of the study may occur extremely useful in the case of an UG-OP transition. Such a transition is often necessary for both technical and economical reasons, as in some coal basins open pit operations at greater depths occur unfeasible, which calls for a proper selection of parameters for a planned underground operation.