The MiDSafe project aims to improve the safety and sustainability of post-mining waste dumps in hard coal and lignite mines. The project focuses on identifying, analyzing, and mitigating geotechnical risks and related hazards in order to improve waste dump management practices.
The main mission of MiDSafe is to create a comprehensive geotechnical database covering waste dumps in hard coal and lignite mines. The database will serve as the basis for risk assessment and the development of a practical monitoring system. Furthermore, the project partnership will focus on developing pioneering innovative materials to mitigate specific hazards posed by mine dumps.
The MiDSafe (Advancing Post-Mining Waste Dump Safety and Sustainability) project is being implemented by an international consortium of eleven partners representing research institutions and industrial companies from five European countries:
POLTEGOR INSTYTUT INSTYTUT – GORNICTWA ODKRYWKOWEGO (Poland) – Project Leader
ETHNICON METSOVION POLYTECHNION (Greece)
TUC POLYTECHNEIO KRITIS (Greece)
SUB SUBTERRA INGENIERIA SL (Spain)
BEN CEO SOCIETATEA COMPLEXUL ENERGETIC OLTENIA SA (Romania)
UNIVERSITATEA DIN PETROSANI (Romania)
VYZKUMNY USTAV PRO HNEDE UHLI AS (Czech Republic)
GLOWNY INSTYTUT GORNICTWA -PANSTWOWY INSTYTUT BADAWCZY (Poland)
LIGNITORYCHEIA ACHLADAS A.E. (Greece)
UNIVERSITATEA 1 DECEMBRIE 1918 (Romania)
POLITECHNIKA WROCLAWSKA (Poland)
The primary goal of the partnership is to ensure complementarity, synergy, and sequencing of the activities included in the research program.
Post-mining waste dumps constitute a very complex category of earth structures, primarily due to their complex geotechnical properties, exhibiting significant differences in their physical, mechanical, and strength properties, leading to loss of stability and, consequently, uncontrolled destruction.
The MiDSafe project partnership initiative encompasses a multifaceted study of geotechnical and environmental hazards in mine dumps. This includes analyzing historical projects to create a comprehensive European database of mine dumps from hard coal and lignite mines. The project will verify the feasibility of repurposing mine dumps and design an advanced monitoring system for continuous data collection, utilizing innovative methodologies such as fuzzy inference systems and 3D numerical modeling to assess slope stability. MiDSafe will develop a detailed risk assessment methodology to identify potential hazards affecting mine dumps. The results of the partnership’s work will allow for the formulation of a comprehensive mine dump management strategy, including an examination of the geotechnical aspects associated with common mine dump rehabilitation methods. The key challenge of the MiDSafe project is to minimize the risks associated with managing mining dumps by developing innovative materials, such as geopolymers and zeolites, that will directly impact the safety and improve the sustainable development of mining areas.
Dedicated profile on the Poltegor website platform:
https://www.igo.wroc.pl/pl/projekty/projekty-unijne/projekty-realizowane-w-ramach-funduszu-badawczego-wegla-i-stali/zwalowiska-pogornicze-midsafe