The paper discusses the problem of the underground mining safety control. The long-term air intake to coal accumulations is reviewed as one of the reasons of endogenous fires during mining. The methods of combating air leaks (inflows) in order to prevent endogenous fires are analyzed. The calculations showing the discrepancy between the design calculations for the mine ventilation, disregarding a number of mining-andgeological and mining-engineering factors, and the actual conditions of mining are given. It is proved that the conversion of operating mines to combined (pressure and exhaust) ventilation system in order to reduce the endogenous fire hazard of underground mining is unreasonable due to impossibility of providing an optimal distribution of aerodynamic pressure in mines. The conversion does not exclude the entry of air into potentially hazardous zones of endogenous fires. The essence of the combined application of positive and negative control methods for the distribution of air pressure is revealed. It consists of air doors installation in easily ventilated airways and installation of pressure equalization chambers equipped with auxiliary fans near the stoppings, working sections and in parallel airways.The effectiveness of the combined application of negative and positive control methods for the air pressure distribution in order to reduce endogenous fire hazard of mining operations is proved.

Abstract. The paper presents the problem of methane explosions prevention in the most hazardous mine section -working face, based on the preventive measures to exclude key factors of methane explosion. The measures of the methane explosions prevention in the working faces during the intensification of coal mining are determined. A method for the aggregated calculation of absolute methane emission in the working face at work of a shearer is proposed. An explosive concentration can occur at any time during cutting coal due to irregularity of methane emission and ventilation processes in the face, which makes the risk of explosion uncontrollable. Consequently, the effective preventive drainage of coal seams is primarily required for the intensification of coal mining. A series of new studies on intensity of methane emission will be required for per face output which is about 30,000 tons per day or more to create new regulatory documents.