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Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is a promising process for recovering energy from potential underground coal resources as combustible gases such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The gasification process that occurs underground is an invisible phenomenon, and the temperature in the underground gasification reaction zone can be over 1,000 °C. Therefore, the visualization/monitoring of the gasification area of UCG plays an important role in the development of a highly efficient, safe , and low environmental impact UCG system. This article reviews the possibility of monitoring high-temperature gasification reaction zones in UCG using Acoustic Emission (AE) technique. AE monitoring can be used as a real time monitoring technique because AE can be detected at the same time when the cracks occur due to the gasification, indicating that it gives an advance warning immediately if the extensive damage occurs. The challenges and future prospects for estimating the gasification reaction area by AE technique are also addressed at the end of article.

This paper presents an alternative methodology for the study of flyrock hazards in mining, utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) through machine learning by classification. By using distance as a delineator to denote the consequences of a blast, the models generated two classes of blasts: safe and unsafe. In this study, statistical learning models best suited for classification, that is, K Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Tree (DT), and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), were used, and their classification abilities were assessed. Machine performance was evaluated using a Confusion Matrix (sensitivity and specificity) and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. A higher weight was assigned to the minority class (unsafe blasts). Overfitting assessment was also performed. The Wide Neural Network (WNN) demonstrated the highest classification superiority. During training and validation, 75% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and an ROC of 0.9853 were achieved. In the test phase, perfect stratification (100 %) was maintained, with an ROC of 1. The Cubic SVM exhibited 50% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and an ROC of 0.9412 during training and validation. In the test set, it achieved 100% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and a ROC of 1. Fine KNN showed 50% sensitivity, 94.1% specificity, and an ROC of 0.7206 in the validation set. The test set displayed 100% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and an ROC of 1. Conversely, Coarse DT had a higher misclassification rate, resulting in a 25% sensitivity, 76.5% specificity, and an ROC of 0.5221 during the validation phase. In the test set, it showed 50% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and an ROC of 0.75. A feedforward neural network (FNN) was designed, trained, and demonstrated to be a highly flexible classification tool. The FNN achieved an excellent classification score of 100%. These findings demonstrate the potential for the broad applicability of machine learning through classification in addressing flyrock challenges in open-pit mines.

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is the process of directly recovering energy as combustible gases such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide by combusting unmined coal resources in situ. The UCG process is an invisible phenomenon, in which fracturing activity at high temperature (>1000 °C) in coal seams expands the gasification zone and increases the combustible components of the product gas. However, excessive expansion of the gasification zone may cause environmental problems such as gas leakage, deformation of the surrounding ground, and groundwater pollution. Therefore, visualization of the gasification zone of UCG is required for both improving gasification efficiency and developing UCG systems with low environmental impact. In this study, the large-scale model UCG experiments conducted on a laboratory scale (size: 625 mm × 650 mm × 2792 mm (H × W × L)) were carried out to discuss the visualization of the gasification reaction zone of coal in UCG by Acoustic Emission (AE) technique with uniaxial and triaxial acceleration transducers. As the results of temperature monitoring and AE source location analysis show, AE sources are located near the high-temperature zone (>1000 °C). In addition, the located AE sources move and expand with the movement and expansion of the high-temperature zone. AE measurement can be a useful technique for monitoring the progress of the UCG reaction zone. AE measurement with triaxial sensors is also useful to predict a high-temperature zone though the measurable range, which has to be considered.

This study investigates the transition from surface to underground mining at the Sepon Gold mine. The stability of surface slopes is assessed prior to commencing underground operations. Stope mining is adopted based on ore body characteristics and geological features. Finite element numerical analysis, employing the Generalized Hoek–Brown criterion, evaluates slope stability for surface slopes and opening stopes. The pit design comprises a 70° slope angle, 20 m height, and 10–15 m safety berm, meeting stability requirements with a factor of safety of 2.46. Underground mining design includes a 62° ore body dip, a 50 m thick crown pillar to prevent surface subsidence, and 5 m wide, 5 m high stopes. Sill pillars are left for support after each level of excavation. Rock bolts are employed in specific stope areas where necessary, with continuous monitoring for surface deformation. This study analyzes the influence of stope sizes on the pit wall and pit bottom stability, identifying slope failures near the hanging wall close to the pit bottom during underground mining. A slight increase in the displacement zone is observed on the upper crest of the top footwall. Overall, the findings demonstrate successful stability in the transition from surface to underground mining at the Sepon Gold mine.

Abstract Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) requires monitoring of the gasification area because the gasification process is invisible and the reaction temperature exceeds 1000 °C. Many fracturing events that occurred due to coal heating can be captured with Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring technique during UCG. However, the temperature conditions to generate fracturing events during UCG have not yet been clarified. Therefore, the coal heating experiment and small-scale UCG experiment are conducted by measuring the temperature and AE activities in this research to examine the applicability of the AE technique instead of temperature measurement as a monitoring method during UCG. As a result, many fracturing events are generated when the temperature of coal is changed drastically, especially during coal gasification. Besides, AE events increase in the sensor near the heat source and AE sources are expanded widely with the expansion of the high-temperature region. AE monitoring is an effective technique for the estimation of the gasification area during UCG instead of temperature monitoring.

Vipingo quarry in Kilifi county, Kenya, is one of the quarries supplying coral limestone for limestone manufacturing in the coastal region. Due to its close proximity to the Indian ocean, the semidiurnal ocean tides tend to have an influence on the stability of the quarry slopes adjacent to the shoreline. Finite element numerical analysis using the generalized Hoek–Brown criterion is conducted to assess the stability condition of the slopes followed by slope-angle optimization to determine the safest overall slope angle as well as analyzing the stability of the slopes due to action of varying ocean tides. The optimum overall slope angles for various excavation depths are found to be 52° for 20 m, 46° for 30 m, 42° for 40 m, and 39° for 50 m, which are the same even with varying distance of the slope face from the shoreline. A parametric analysis shows that there is no significant effect of the tides on slope stability for excavations above the water table, but as the quarry gets deeper, the slope stability is affected. A sensitivity factor (ζ) is introduced, being a measure of how much the slope safety factor is reduced as a result of the semidiurnal tidal action.

In this paper, a multi-point geostatistical (MPS) method based on variational function partition simulation is proposed to solve the key problem of MPS 3D modeling using 2D training images. The new method uses the FILTERSIM algorithm framework, and the variational function is used to construct simulation partitions and training image sequences, and only a small number of training images close to the unknown nodes are used in the partition simulation to participate in the MPS simulation. To enhance the reliability, a new covariance filter is also designed to capture the diverse features of the training patterns and allow the filter to downsize the training patterns from any direction; in addition, an information entropy method is used to reconstruct the whole 3D space by selecting the global optimal solution from several locally similar training patterns. The stability and applicability of the new method in complex geological modeling are demonstrated by analyzing the parameter sensitivity and algorithm performance. A geological model of a uranium deposit is simulated to test the pumping of five reserved drill holes, and the results show that the accuracy of the simulation results of the new method is improved by 11.36% compared with the traditional MPS method.

Abstract This paper described the use of fly ash for soil amelioration of acidic soils to promote plant growth. In mining sites, acid sulfate soils/rocks, which contain sulfide minerals (e.g. pyrite FeS2), have appeared as a result of overburden excavation. The excessively acidic condition inhibits plant growth due to the dissolution of harmful elements, such as Al, Fe, and Mn. Fly ash, an alkaline byproduct of coal combustion generated in thermal power plants is expected to be adopted to ameliorate acidic soils. However, the mixing ratio of fly ash must be considered because excessive addition of fly ash can have a negative impact on plant growth due to its physical/chemical properties. The pot trials using Acacia mangium demonstrate the evolution of plant growth with a 5%–10% addition of fly ash into acidic soil. When the acidic soil has a high potential for metal dissolution, the metal ions leached from the acidic soil are large, making it difficult to improve plant growth due to osmotic and ionic stress. This work suggests that the effects of fly ash on metal ions leached from the soil have to be considered for the amelioration of acidic soil.

Bulking characteristics of gangue are of great significance for the stability of goafs in mining overburden in the caving zones. In this paper, a particle discrete element method with clusters to represent gangue was adopted to explore the bulking coefficient time effect of the broken rock in the caving zone under three-dimensional triaxial compression condition. The phenomena of stress corrosion, deformation, and failure of rock blocks were simulated in the numerical model. Meanwhile, a new criterion of rock fragments damage was put forward. It was found that the broken rock has obvious viscoelastic properties. A new equation based on the Burgers creep model was proposed to predict the bulking coefficient of broken rock. A deformation characteristic parameter of the prediction equation was analyzed, which can be set as a fixed value in the mid- and long-term prediction of the bulking coefficient. There are quadratic function relationships between the deformation characteristic parameter value and Talbot gradation index, axial pressure and confining pressure.

The accurate forecasting of metal prices is of great importance to industrial producers as the supply of metal raw materials is a very important part of industrial production. The futures market is subject to many factors, and metal prices are highly volatile. In the past, most of the relevant research has focused only on deterministic point forecasting, with less research performed on interval uncertainty forecasting. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel forecasting model that combines point forecasting and interval forecasting. First, a novel hybrid price point forecasting model was established using Variational Modal Decomposition (VMD) and a Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network (LSTM) based on Sparrow Search Algorithm (SSA) optimization. Then, five distribution functions based on the optimization algorithm were used to fit the time series data patterns and analyze the metal price characteristics, Finally, based on the optimal distribution function and point forecasting results, the forecasting range and confidence level were set to determine the interval forecasting model. The interval forecasting model was validated by inputting the price data of copper and aluminum into the model and obtaining the interval forecasting results. The validation results show that the proposed hybrid forecasting model not only outperforms other comparative models in terms of forecasting accuracy, but also has a better performance in forecasting sharp fluctuations and data peaks, which can provide a more valuable reference for producers and investors.

Rock blasting is one of the most common techniques for rock breakage in the open-pit mining excavation. On the other hand, the application of the technique has been restricted by law since it may cause a serious impact on surrounding environment, such as flyrock, ground vibration and noise. According to the statistics, more than 70% of accidents relating to the usage of explosives is flyrock. This accident may cause serious damage to buildings, human beings, and objects in the surrounding area. However, a detailed guideline for prevention of flyrock has not been developed yet. From these points of views, a series of field experiments was conducted and initial velocity and flying direction of fragmented rock were discussed by considering blasting standard and rock mass conditions such as strength, fractures/cracks and joints. The result shows that powder factor and burden have strong influence on the initial velocity of fragmented rock. Not only blasting designs but also rock mass conditions, cracks/joints strongly effect on the initial velocity. In addition, it was also made clear that the existence of fractures/cracks/joints in the blasting face have an obvious impact on the direction of fragmented rock.

Soil erosion is one of the major environmental problems in open-cut mines in tropical regions. It causes negative impacts including the removal of nutrient-rich topsoil, destroys aquatic habitat, dam and pond siltation, clogs river by deposition of sediment, and causes water pollution in the rehabilitation process. Soil texture is an important factor to affect soil erosion. In this study, artificial rainfall experiment in the laboratory scale was conducted to clarify the mechanism of soil erosion under the different soil composition and to discuss the methods for minimizing soil erosion. The obtained results showed that the soil seal generated due to the presence of fine particle under high rainfall intensity is the main contributor to accelerate the soil erosion. Additionally, the surface coverage by the cover crops is the most effective measure to reduce soil erosion because both the coarse and fine contents runoff can be minimized while arranging of the slope angle is effective for reducing the runoff of coarse contents and the soil compaction is effective to reduce that of fine contents. Soil erosion can be minimized by selecting prevention method considering the type of soil because the prevention effect on soil erosion is different depending on the type of soil.

Characterization of the mechanical properties of cracked rock masses is essential for ensuring the long-term stability of the engineering environment. This paper is aimed at studying the relationship between the strength characteristics of specimen and the angle of precrack, as well as the interaction of cracks under uniaxial compression. To this end, two sandstone specimens, distinguished with a single and three precracks, were built using the PFC software. For the former case, both the peak strength and elastic modulus increase to a peak value as the crack angle α gets closer to the forcing (loading) direction. For the latter case, the strength experiences a trend of increasing-maintaining trend as the crack angle α gets closer to the forcing direction, and the elastic moduli are barely affected. For the specimens containing a single precrack, their crack numbers increased approximately in a one-step or two-step stair pattern with increasing axial strain; whereas for the specimens containing three cracks, their crack numbers all showed a multistep growth trend. Furthermore, the failure mode of the specimen is closely related to the precrack angle. However, if the precrack distribution does not affect the original crack propagation path, it will hardly affect the mechanical properties of the specimen.

The typical reinforcements and supports used in the main gate of underground coal mining (particularly in the weak to very weak rock strata), such as rock/cable bolts, steel sets, and grouting materials, often allow the mine to remain serviceable in the long run, but in complicated geotechnical and geological conditions, they are insufficient. Low rock strength leads to instability and exhibits serious ground control issues. The pipe-jacking method with a precast concrete pipe support can be one of the more appropriate options for significantly improving geotechnical concerns. This paper aims to study the applicability of pipe-jacking technology in underground coal mining based on a series of numerical analyses employing a three-dimensional FEM (3D-σ software, Geoscience Research Laboratory Co Ltd, Kanagawa, Japan). In the numerical analyses, we study the crown deformation and failure proximity using different inclination angles for the tunnel, different highwall slopes, and two different shapes for the pipe. It is important to note that a precast concrete pipe is effective as a primary support system and can improve the stability of the main gate efficiently.

Numerical simulation is very useful for understanding the hydraulic fracture (HF) re-orientation mechanism from artificial weaknesses. In this paper, the UDEC T-W (Trigon–Weibull distribution) modeling method is adopted to simulate the hydraulic fracturing process in heterogeneous rocks. First, the reliability of this method is validated against previous laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. Then the effects of fluid rate, fluid viscosity, perforation angle and natural fracture (NF) on the HF re-orientation process in heterogeneous rocks are studied independently. The results show that the HF re-orientation process depends on the combined effect of these factors. The HF re-orientation distance increases significantly, the final HF re-orientation trajectory becomes more complex and the guiding effect of perforation on the HF propagation path is more evident with the increase of fluid rate, fluid viscosity, and perforation angle if the hydraulic fracturing is performed in relatively heterogeneous rocks, while the differential stress is the main influencing factor and is more likely to dictate the HF propagation path if the rocks become relatively homogeneous. However, increasing the fluid viscosity and fluid rate can attenuate the impact of differential stress and can promote HF propagation along the perforation direction. Besides, NFs are also the important factor affecting HF re-orientation and induce secondary HF re-orientation in some cases in heterogeneous rocks.

The demand for specific earth retaining wall methods is increasing along with the advancement and overcrowding of underground space use such as the presence of adjacent structures in an urban area. To cope with this, the method named earth stepped-twin retaining wall is increasingly being applied. However, there is a concern about the workplace if the earth pressure causes a heaving and pressing phenomenon from both ends of the retaining wall in the earth stepped-twin retaining wall. Therefore, we proposed the application of an anchor method that contains the inner and outer walls by using numerical simulation. The effects of the difference in soil properties, the horizontal distance between the outer and inner walls, and the depth of the outer wall embedment on the anchor were investigated. The results of this study show that the wall deflection of the inner wall could improve by adopting the anchor support. Besides, it was found that the inner wall can be efficiently suppressed by adopting the hybrid system with anchors and struts according to the soil properties, horizontal distance, and the depth of the outer wall.

Abstract Underground facilities play an important role in infrastructure of modern society, especially some lifeline engineering, such as subway and railway tunnels, civil air-defense engineering and so on. As we know, the entire cognitive processes of seismic response of underground openings to earthquake is transforming from taking no account of earthquake load, primordially, to adopting the theory of free-field deformation, transitively, and the employing theory of dynamic design till now. However, so far, there are no established methods which can absolutely be employed for assessing and evaluating stability and induced plastic damage of tunnel surroundings ground during earthquakes. Based on a while building subway tunnel, this paper describes the propagation of seismic wave and seismic induced plastic damage of surrounding rock with a simple harmonic wave and a field recorded wave, which have the same dominate frequency. In addition, the specific energy density (SED) is introduced to represent the energy dissipation during ground shaking. Due to the recorded time-history wave, the response of feature points along tunnel and extension of plastic zone are analyzed with the different peak ground acceleration (PGA). Results illustrate that the upper tunnel cross section is more vulnerable than the lower part. Interestingly, when the PGA reaches 0.3 and 0.4 time of gravity acceleration, the seismic response of tunnel behaves almost the same.

Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident produced much amount of radioactively contaminated water at the Great East Japan Earthquake. 137Cs and 90Sr have been focused to remove from the contaminated water using zeolite types of adsorbents. Other radionuclides have been treated and removed separately by Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), where resin is used to immobilize anions. However, these kinds of spent-adsorbents are not suitable for long-terms burying because of its instability, and the representative anionic radionuclides (129I, 36Cl, 99mTc and 79Se) have quite long half-life (105-107 years). Montmorillonite (Mt) is an useful adsorbent because of its high chemical stability and large cationic exchange capacity. In the present work, surfactant modified Mt (OMt) has been developed using hexadecylpyridium chloride for adsorption of ClO4-, which is a surrogate of 99mTcO4-. For stabilization of spent-OMt, cement solidification was examined with varying the ratio of spent-OMt content. To evaluate its chemical and physical stability, soaking and compressive strength tests were conducted. As a result, it was revealed by FTIR and 29Si-NMR that with increase in OMt contents, the linkage of calcium silicate hydrate was more developed.

The present research primarily focuses on the investigation of gate-entry stability of longwall trial panel under weak geological condition in Indonesia coal mine by means of numerical analysis. This work aims at identifying appropriate roof support at 100 m and 150 m of depth during gate development. Due to depth depending competency of dominant rock, the stability of gate-entry at 100 m of depth can be optimized by leaving at least 1 m of remaining coal thickness (RCT) above and below the gate-entry. The appropriate support for the trial panel gate-entry is steel arch SS540 with 1 m and 0.5 m spacing for 100 m and 150 m of depth, respectively. The influence of panel excavation on gate-entry is also discussed. Regarding the aforementioned influence, the utilization of additional gate mobile support is recommended at least 10 m from the longwall face.

The shaft lining failure which occurs in deep alluvium is a sudden coal mine hazard. The strata grouting is one of the treatment methods for the shaft lining failure. To investigate the impact of grout injection pressure on the shaft lining, the field measurement and the numerical analysis of the shaft lining stress variation during the grouting were conducted. To improve the strata grouting, the underground continuous impervious curtain (UCIC) is proposed as a new method by using the chain conveyor cutter technique without the impact on the shaft lining. The effects of the new method were also analyzed by means of the numerical methods. The results show that the strata grouting in the deep alluvium needs a high injection pressure, and in the horizontal direction, the shaft lining sustains the repeat tensile and compressive force during the grouting process. The negative influence of strata grouting on the stability of the shaft lining is obvious and serious. The UCIC built around the shaft lining can restrain the stress concentration induced by the aquifer drawdown. The triangular UCIC has a similar effect as that of the vertical one, and the small angle is better for preventing the shaft lining failure.

Subsidence analysis and prediction with measured data have been conducted and applied to local strata and mining conditions worldwide. Underground coal mines chose the most suitable analysis and prediction method for them. However, there was no study based on the measured data of subsidence induced by underground mining operation in Indonesia. This paper describes the condition of underground coal mine in Indonesia and then discusses the subsidence behavior due to longwall mining operation based on measured data in Balikpapan coal-bearing formation in Indonesia.

To reduce noise components from original microseismic waves, a comprehensive fine signal processing approach using the integrated decomposition analysis of the wave duration, frequency spectrum, and wavelet coefficient domain was developed and implemented. Distribution regularities of the wave component and redundant noise on the frequency spectrum and the wavelet coefficient domain were first expounded. The frequency threshold and wavelet coefficient threshold were determined for the identification and extraction of the effective wave component. The frequency components between the reconstructed microseismic wave and the original measuring signal were compared. The noise elimination effect via the scale-changed domain decomposition was evaluated. Interaction between the frequency threshold and the wavelet coefficient threshold in the time domain was discussed. The findings reveal that tri-domain decomposition analysis achieves the precise identification and extraction of the effective microseismic wave component and improves the reliability of waves by eliminating the redundant noise. The frequency threshold and the wavelet coefficient threshold on a specific time window are two critical parameters that determine the degree of precision for the identification of the extracted wave component. This research involves development of the proposed integrated domain decomposition method and provides a diverse view on the fine processing of the microseismic signal.

The increase in the number of coal-fired power plants with the increase in coal production and its consumption has caused the problem of the treatment of a large amount of coal ash in Indonesia. In the past studies, coal ash was applied to postmine land with the aim of improving soil conditions for plant growth; however, heavy rain in the tropical climate may cause soil erosion with the change in soil conditions. This study presents the effects of application of coal ash to postmine land on soil erosion by performing the artificial rainfall test as well as physical testing. The results indicate that the risk of soil erosion can be reduced significantly by applying the coal ash which consists of more than 85% of sand to topsoil in the postmine land at the mixing ratio of over 30%. Additionally, they reveal that not only fine fractions but also microporous structures in coal ash enhance water retention capacity by retaining water in the structure, leading to the prevention of soil erosion. Thus, the risk of soil erosion can be reduced by applying coal ash to topsoil in consideration of soil composition and microporous structure of coal ash.

Characterization of mine waste rocks and prediction of acid mine drainage (AMD) play an important role in preventing AMD. Although high-tech analytical methods have been highlighted for mineral characterization and quantification, simple testing methods are still practical ways to perform in a field laboratory in mines. Thus, this study applied some simple testing methods to the characterization of mine wastes and AMD prediction in addition to a leaching test and the sequential extraction test with HCl, HF, and HNO3, which have not been applied for these purposes, focusing on the form of sulfur and the neutralization effects of carbonates. The results of the Acid Buffering Characteristic Curve test supported the changing trend of the pH attributing carbonates only during the first 10 leaching cycles in the leaching test. The change in the Net Acid Generating (NAG) pH in the sequential NAG test reflected the solubility of sulfur in the rocks, providing information on the form of sulfur in the rocks and the acid-producing potential over time. Consequently, the sequential NAG test and sequential extraction with the acids in combination with the current standards tests (Acid Base Accounting and NAG tests) provided important information for preventing AMD.

Soil water erosion is frequently reported as serious problem in soils in Southeast Asia with tropical climates, and the variations in pH affect the development of the erosion. This study investigated the effects of changes in pH on soil water erosion based on changes in the physical properties of the simulated soils with pH adjusted from 2.0 to 10.0 through artificial rainfall tests. The zeta potential was entirely shifted to positive direction at each pH condition due to Al, Ca, and Mg. In the pH range of 6.0 to 2.0, the aggregation of soil particles resulting from the release of Al3+ from clay minerals and/or molecular attraction between soil particles caused the plastic index (IP) of the soil to decrease. The decrease in IP led to the development of soil water erosion at the pH range. When the pH exceeded 6.0, the repulsive force generated by the negative charges on soil particles decreased IP, resulting in accelerated erosion by water. The results suggest that changes in pH causes physical properties of the soil to change through changes of the zeta potential in the clayey soil rich in Al, Ca, and Mg, leading to the development of soil water erosion.

To study the effectiveness of grouting reinforcement on a large heaving floor of the retained goaf-side gateroad (RGSG) at a 900 m depth in the Zhuji coal mine, a numerical model involving strain softening constitutive material was built. First, the simulated deformations of the RGSG were compared with field data to verify the reliability of the numerical model. Then, the dynamic distribution of the stress in the RGSG floor was examined to reveal the mechanism of floor heave. Finally, grouting reinforcement was proposed to control the RGSG floor, and the corresponding effectiveness was verified by improving the rock mechanics of the floor strata based on the results of numerical uniaxial compressive tests. The results demonstrated that a fairly good match was achieved between the field and numerical data, and the proposed FLAC3D (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua) numerical model was an effective approach to study the stability of the deep RGSG. A variation of the ratio between horizontal stress to vertical stress in the floor strata was the root cause of floor heave in the deep RGSG. Ideally, the floor heave could be reduced by 41%, 62%, and 79% when the floor strata of 1 m depth were reinforced with grouting schemes I, II, and III, respectively.

Abstract Blasting remains as an economical and reliable excavation technique, but there are some environmental shortcomings such as the control of blast-induced vibration. The impacts of vibration over surrounding communities in a blast area have been investigated for decades and researchers have been using a myriad of empirical predictive attenuation equations. These models, however, may not have satisfactory accuracy, since parameters associated to geomechanical properties and geology affect the propagation of seismic waves, making vibration modeling a complex process. This study aims for application of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) method and Geomechanical parameter relationships to simulate the blast-induced vibration for a Brazilian mining site and then compare them to the traditional approach. ANN had the best performance for this mine despite having demanded large datasets (as much as for the traditional approach), while geomechanical parameters like RQD and GSI may be used to deliver a fair approach even without seismic data. Also, ANN methods may be useful in dealing with a large amount of information to facilitate the simulation process when combined with other methods. Therefore, alternative prediction methods may be helpful for small budget mining operations in planning and controlling blast-induced vibration and helping mining in urban areas becoming a more sustainable activity.