Geotechnical issues of shallow mining within the Upper Silesian Industrial Region

Mining activity, within the Upper Silesian Industrial Region resulted in numerous mining damage - especially the discontinuous deformations. They are developed in effect of shallow coal seams extraction or are connected with Zn-Pb ore mining. Within the Syncline of Bytom the shallow ore mining, folIowed by coal mining, carried out at bigger depth led to reactivation of abandoned ore workings, and formation of mining damage to the surface. The main factors controlling the deformations over old, shallow workings comprise several categories of variabIes: size of mine workings, mining conditions, rock massif characteristics, stability of external conditions, and time. Most of the recent theories and solutions underline the role of variables defining the space and size of old workings. Existing models processes of deformation due to shallow mining allow the assessment of the character and size of sinkholes formed on the surface, over worked out parts of rock massif. They are efficient in forecasting surface deformations within the areas of simple geological setting. Problem of wider application of the forecasting methods in development planning remains still open, moreover the techniques of prevention against sudden deformation, and degraded land reclamation need to be constantly developed.