Study of seismic activities associated with Australian underground coal mining

This paper reviews the seismic events that occurred within the New South Wales (NSW) mining regions in the past 10 years, using the seismic data obtained from Geoscience Australia. The frequency and magnitude of the seismic events were assessed to investigate the correlation between underground mining activities and the associated seismicity. The study also reviewed the seismic events associated with coal bursts in Australia to understand its nature and its proneness in Australian conditions. Based on the study conducted, there is no clear correlation between the past recorded seismic events and the underground coal mining activities. It is also suggested that the coal burst in Australia appears in low energy magnitude, occurring in isolated manner. In comparison to international experience, coal mines in China and United States have encountered significantly higher frequency and magnitude seismic events associated with coal burst. Based on the findings, it is recommended that localised seismic monitoring methods should be used to monitor low magnitude events with higher accuracy in regards to depth and location of events. The analysis and results produced from this study contribute to the knowledge and understanding of mining induced seismicity in Australian underground coal mines.