Volume 29 (2023): Issue 1 (March 2023)

The smoke behaviour and smoke stratification of a fire in a mine drift will be one of the decisive factors affecting the risk to mining personnel during a fire. This paper studies the smoke stratification in a mine drift with multiple objects downstream of the fire, at varying distances and number of objects. Data for the study was provided from earlier model-scale fire experiments and CFD modelling was performed for in-depth analysis of specific phenomena. It was found that at considerable downstream distances from the fire, the smoke stratification differences were significant, reflecting the high impact of multiple objects. With an increasing distance between the objects downstream, an increased degree of mixing and decreased stratification occurred. With an increasing distance between the burning object and the second object, the smoke layer will descend further before encountering the object and the smoke stratification on the upstream side of the second object will decrease. The increased mixing of the hot gases flowing from the burning object will have a more significant effect on the overall stratification due to the higher temperatures. An increasing number of objects downstream will not by itself lead to increased stratification, with shorter distances between the objects and an increasing number of objects, the smoke stratification may instead be retained for a longer distance. An increasing flow velocity will result in decreasing stratification found foremost downstream of the burning object, as the tilt of the plume will increase and interact increasingly with the second object.

The drilling and blasting operation represents an important component of the whole complex of operations specific to the activity of exploitation of mineral resources through explosives blasting, both economically and in terms of environmental impact. The extraction activity requires the preparation of a complex document called drilling and blasting monograph that includes the elements of the drilling design with the geometric characteristics of the location and the diameter of the boreholes, respectively the choice of the explosive and the sequencing method. The present paper represents a synthesis of the extensive works carried out as part of the Horizon 2020 - Goldeneye European project, through Grant Agreement 869398.

Land reclamation of previously mined regions has been incorporated in the mining process as awareness of environmental protection has grown. In this study, we used the open-pit coal mine Oslomej in R. N. Macedonia to demonstrate the activities related to the monitoring process of the study area.

We combined the Google Earth Engine (GEE) computing platform with the Landsat time-series data, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Random Forest (RF) algorithm, and the LandTrendr algorithm to monitor the mining impacts, land reclamation, and the solar farm growth of the coalfield region between 1984 and 2021.

The data from the sequential Landsat archive that was used to construct the spatiotemporal variability of the NDVI over the Oslomej mine site (1984-2021) and the pixel-based trajectories from the LandTrendr algorithm were used to achieve accurate measurements and analysis of vegetation disturbances.

The different land use/land cover (LULC) classes herbaceous, water, mine, bare land, and solar farm in the Oslomej coalfield area were identified, and the effects of LULC changes on the mining environment were discussed. The RF classification algorithm was capable of separating these LULC classes with accuracies exceeding 90 %. We also validated our results using random sample points, field knowledge, imagery, and Google Earth.

Our methodology, which is based on GEE, effectively captured information on mining, reclamation, and solar farm change, providing annual data (maps and change attributes) that can help local planners, policymakers, and environmentalists to better understand environmental influences connected to the ongoing conversion of the mining areas.

Mining activities represent one of the main causes leading to subsidence in the natural and urban environment. Sustainable urban planning and detection of potential hazards in mining areas involve the use of adequate instruments such as the continuous monitoring of land subsidence. The complexity of urban environment demands the utilization of new methods for monitoring and quantifying the effects of the mining processes. In the last decades, considering the technological developments from the remote sensing domain, the Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) techniques offer the opportunity for early detection and continuous monitoring of subsidence in mining areas, including urban centers. Considering various parameters of mining subsidence monitoring, a review of several tens of studies realized in different mining sites, based on InSAR techniques, is presented. As mining subsidence in urban areas has a direct impact on the quality of life, the review is completed with demographic indicators assessment, followed by a study case on the dynamics of the population in an urban mining area from Romania, Ocnele Mari.

The rapid development of renewable energy sources, which has been going on for the last two decades, allows now the elimination of the coal use for power generation. Nevertheless, coal will continue to be used in key-industrial sectors, such as steel and cement production, which are crucial for maintaining the living standards of modern society. The future remains doubtful for coals of poor quality characteristics, such as lignite, which is used almost exclusively for power generation purposes. The present study aims to show that, even in the case of lignite, the transition to a zero-carbon economy must be decoupled from the mines closure. In this context, a combined SWOT–AHP analysis was conducted in order to compare seven potential non-energy uses of the lignite produced in the mines of Western Macedonia region, based on six criteria that are in line with the framework set by the European Union for the selection of the best technologies for every site-specific case. This comparison showed that the most promising technologies are related to the production of organic fertilizers and soil amendments, raw materials and products for the construction industry, activated carbon, and graphene. These technologies may contribute to the achievement of socioeconomic and environmental targets that are critical for the just transition of Western Macedonia region to a new, sustainable productive model.

Environmental risk can result from the interaction between human activity and the environment. Human activities can generate certain changes in the environmental components, thus inducing a potential danger for the health of people, flora, vegetation and fauna through the negative effects they have on water resources, air and soil quality, climate, microclimate, and so on. This paper presents the potable water treatment plant from Zănoaga, located in Petroșani Municipality, and highlights the potential risks related to the activity within this plant. Particular emphasis is placed on the risk to the environment and human health that may arise from improper storage and handling of liquid chlorine tanks, chlorine being a toxic gas if found in high concentrations in air, water or soil.

In the field of underground and surface mining, offshore and onshore exploitation, hydrocarbon distribution, associations of circularity activities are required taking into account the protection of the environment, the safety and security of people, deposits and objectives in the specific productive infrastructures, as well as the responsibility in the regulatory/legislative framework assumed by directives, laws, rules and norms. The circular economy implies the transition to an eco-industry based on reducing the consumption of energy and raw materials, in which mining waste, municipal waste (in fact, all categories of waste, including hazardous waste) have destinations established from the design phases, being included in the cyclical spiral of reuse. The authors emphasize that in this framework, the waste/residues that appear in an exploitation/manufacturing process represent raw materials for other processes. The article deals with aspects related to the technological and managerial consistency in the problem of waste, Refuse-Derived Fuel, co-processing of waste in cement factories, the industrialization of waste for RDF through mechanical, biological treatment and advances the investment proposal of Unit for Advanced Energo-Thermal Treatment of Waste. It is concluded that regarding the industrialization of mining waste and energy in the circular economy, roadmaps are needed for the introduction and development of waste management / (Roadmap to Improve Waste Management) in Romania and other interested countries.

The article shows that when dealing with many enterprises in mining areas, it is necessary to search for methods of efficiency, ways of maximizing the utility of their operation in accordance with the requirements for the consumption of useful mineral substances, primary energy resources and energy and in relation to their production potential. Clustering in the complex system of mining and energy resources is an approach that refers to geographical concentrations of interconnected companies and institutions in a certain field (mining and energy), related industries and entities for competition. Mainly, the authors deal with issues related to conceptual approaches related to clustering, anthropogenic impacts and mining/energy clustering, the delimitation of “clusters - links - infrastructure” alignments for the promotion of the mining and energy industry / economy in a collaborative regime. The conclusions are useful to the developers of strategies, tactics and programs in the field of the new industry and mining/energy economies in Romania and in other reference countries studied by the authors from the perspective of the article’s theme.