Harmony of large-scale underground mining and surface ecological environment protection in desert district - a case study in Shendong mining area, northwest of China

Large-scale exploitation in Shendong mining area will encounter the puzzle of preserving the frail ecological environment in desert area. The interactive relationship between underground mining suiting for surface ecological environment protection and surface ecological environment prevention adapting to mining disturbance is the research and development core of this technique. There are three actions involved in controlling ecological environment, to dispose before exploitation, to protect surface ecological environment during the exploitation and to repair and build up after exploitation. Based on the law of overburden movement in shallow coal seam, the law of surface subsidence and the law of vegetation growth in subsidence area, an integrated controlling technique, including the key techniques of aquifer-protection mining, mine water filtration and purification through goaf, fire prevention and extinguishment in shallow seam, non-rockroadway layout with underground waste disposal, pre-mining eco-function circle construction and post-mining ecological recycling system building, has been developed by methodologies of theoretical analysis, laboratory simulation, numerical calculation, industrial practice, etc.