Combined Method of Coal Mining in the Opening of Shallow Layers as a Direction of Innovative Development of Geotechnology

In recent years, there has been a decline in the efficiency of coal mining by traditional methods. On the one hand, the volume of coal outside the contour of the cut, which is economically impractical for open-pit mining, is increasing. On the other hand, when using underground geotechnology, the cost of production exceeds the cost of performing mining operations using open geotechnology, this is due to differences in the factors of operation of the open pit and the mine. This circumstance determines the use of open-underground technology for mining coal reserves outside the contour of the open pit as an actual and promising direction. This article describes a methodological approach based on the use of technological schemes for the preparation and treatment of reserves of powerful shallow coal seams, the justification of the parameters of combined geotechnology with a coordinated and balanced development of open and open-underground mining operations with the distribution of reserves for open and open-underground mining of coal reserves beyond the limit contour of the open pit, the preparation of excavation sites directly from its workings and the coordination of production capacity and the speed of their development. Its application will increase the production capacity of the coal mining complex without additional environmental burden and will provide an increased return on investment