Mining College, National University of Sciences and Technology—MISIS, Moscow, Russia:

S. V. Slastunov, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences
G. G. Karkashadze, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, g-karkashadze@mail.ru

SUEK-Kuzbass:
E. P. Yutyaev, Chief Executive Officer
E. V. Mazanik, Director of Aerological Safety of Mining, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

The article reports data on mine trial of a pre-mining methane drainage pattern. The new-proposed technology represents the action sequence described below:
— coal panel is drilled from drifts on two sides of the panel, the drill holes are short (30–40 m), have a diameter of 132 mm and a spaced at 70–75 m;
— in the drill holes metal pipes with a diameter of 76 mm are installed;
— the hole clearance is filled with polymer adhesive to ensure reliable sealing of the hole mouth;
— each drill hole is then drilled over with a diameter of 50 mm to a length of 2–5 m;
— in the drilled-over part of a hole, water is injected at a rate of 5–10 l/s under a pressure of 220 bar;
— the hydrotreating of coal lasts for a day, and the drill holes are then shut;
— finally, long methane drainage holes are drilled in the panel in accordance with a standard technology, and coal-mine methane is recovered using mine offtake pipes.

This process pattern was tested in a mine in the Kuznetsk Coal Basin. The pore pressure measured during the tests varied from 24 to 3 bar. The recorded methane influx rate was 2–3 times higher than in the standard technology. This process pattern is recommended for application in gas-bearing coal seam mining at high face outputs.
This study has been supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, R&D No. 1190, basic part of the task no. 2014/113.

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