The determination of methane content of coal seams is conducted in hard coal mines in order to assess the state of methane hazard but also to evaluate gas resources in the deposit. In the world’s mining industry, natural gas content in coal determination is usually based on direct methods. It remains the basic method in Poland as well. An important element in the determination procedure is the gas loss that occurs while collecting a sample for testing in underground conditions. In the method developed by the authors, which is a Polish standard, based on taking a sample in the form of drill cuttings, this loss was established at a level of 12%. Among researchers dealing with the methane content of coal, there are doubts related to the procedures adopted for coal sampling and the time which passes from taking a sample to enclosing it in a sealed container. Therefore, the studies were designed to evaluate the degree of degassing of the sample taken in the form of drill cuttings according to the standard procedure and in the form of the drill core from a coal mine roadway. The results show that the determinations made for the core coincide with the determinations made for the drill cutting samples, with the loss of gas taken into account.

In Polish underground mines in which excavations are subjected to high heat load, central and group cooling systems based on indirect cooling units are implemented. Chilled water, referred to as cold water and produced in chillers, is distributed through a pipeline network to air coolers located in mining and development districts. The coolers are often moved to other locations and the pipeline network undergoes constant modification. In such a system, parameters of cold water in different branches of the pipeline network need to be controlled.The article presents the principles for controlling the cooling capacity of air coolers installed in an underground mine. Also, the authors propose automatic control of water flow rate in underground pipeline network and in particular coolers, depending on the temporary cooling load in the system. The principles of such a system, controlling cold water distribution, and the functions of its individual components are described. Finally, an example of an automatic control of water flow rate in a central cooling system currently implemented in a mine is presented.

Underground fires in coal mines belong to the most common hazards, the exposure to which frequently requires long term and costly rescue operations. It is mainly connected with the specific character of underground excavations which have limited volume. This makes the maximum permissible concentration of harmful gases rapidly exceeded and may also cause changes in air flow direction. The most certain way of improving a safety situation in Polish coal mining industry is taking early prevention steps. One of the prevention methods is inertisation of the atmosphere in longwall goaf. These activities rely on partial or total replacement of air or combustible atmosphere by inert gas. Thanks to them the risk of spontaneous fires hazard and gas explosion decreases. The main reason for the use of inert gases is to reduce the oxygen content to a limit which prevents further development of fire. This article presents methods for assessing inert gas to replace oxygen in the atmosphere in goaf.

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