Improvement of the Technoogy of Steep Seam Working.

The extraction of coal from steep seams in the Donbas constitutes 13% of total underground production of mines managed by the Ministry of Coal Industry of the Ukrainian SSR. The seam bedding angles are 35-72 degree , their capacities are 0. 4-2. 2 m (0. 85 m average thickness). The specific weight of stoping faces in low-capacity (rif to 1. 2 m) seams amounts to almost 90%. The feasibility of mechanization of coal mining under these conditions is discussed; in particular the use of shield units.