THE DEVELOPMENT OF SURFACE STEPS DURING MINING SUBSIDENCE - NOT DUE TO FAULT REACTIVATION

In spite of the voluminous literature which has been collated over the past ca. 150 years regarding the occurrence, prediction and control o f the various phenomena associated with mining subsidence, the behavio ur of geological faults during such subsidence is still poorly underst ood. It is generally appreciated that the reactivation of faults durin g mining events, and the consequent formation of a step in the surface topography, is complex and variable, and can result in extensive and spectacular structural damage. Within the past ca. two years evidence from the British and Ukrainian coalfields has been correlated which su ggests that the surface steps formed and effected in the topography ma y be centred over contrasting lithological contacts such as bedding pl anes, joints, unconformities and the outcrop of fold axes.