Assessment of the influencing factors on subsidence at abandoned coal mines in South Korea

This study deals with the characteristics of subsidence and the relationships between the subsidence factors over abandoned coal mines in South Korea. The subsidence factors that were investigated were the dip angle and thickness of the coal bed, mining depth, depth of subsidence, and subsidence area in 548 cases of subsidence that occurred throughout the country. A close relationship between the type of subsidence and mining method was identified. There was an intimate relation between the depth of subsidence and the dip angle of the coal bed, while the subsidence area proved to be in proportion to the thickness of the coal bed and mining depth and was in inverse proportion to the dip angle of the coal bed.