Coal is one of the world's basic energy resources, in 2009, global coal production was 3.409 billion tons of oil equivalent (equivalent to approximately 6.941 billion tons raw coal). Among them, China's coal output in the proportion of total global coal production was 45.6%.

In 2009 there were 10 countries whose coal production is more than 100 million tons. In the 10 countries total coal output was 6.212 billion tons, accounting for 89.5% of global coal production. China and Poland are the world's coal production powers. In the 80ths of the 20^th century the average exploitation depth in Polish coal mines reached 1000 m, a lot of successful experience in safety and efficient exploitation at great depth has been obtained. Since the beginning of the 21^st century, China is also faced with technical problems caused by exploitation at great depth in coal mines. Anhui University of Science and Technology in China and AGH University of Science and Technology in Poland are world-famous due to their effective contribution to coal exploitation and mine safety technology. Many experts and professors of both universities engaged in coal exploitation and safety research and teaching, obtained great achievements. The “International Mining Forum 2010 ‑ Mine Safety and Efficient Exploitation Facing Challenge of the 21^st Century” jointly organized by Anhui University of Science and Technology and AGH University of Science and Technology has great significance, providing an opportunity and platform of mutual technical exchanges to experts and scholars engaged in coal exploitation and safety from China, Poland and other countries. The purpose of the forum is, by exchanges and seminars, to promote worldwide research and development of mine safety and efficient exploitation theory and technology, providing theoretical and technical support for improvement of mine safety level.

In recent years, important progress in theoretical and technical research on coal mine safety and efficient exploitation in China has been made. In which theory and technology of integrated coal exploitation and gas extraction originated by Chinese researchers under leadership of professor Yuan Liang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, has been successfully applied in the Huainan mining area, and promoted in other coal mines in China. Especially by using key technologies of pilarless integrated coal exploitation and gas extraction in coal seams group of low permeability, technical problems of integrated coal exploitation and gas extraction in complex geological conditions of high gas, low permeability and high strata stress was successfully resolved.

Key technologies of safety and efficient exploitation at great depth of coal mines are: strata control, gas and heat hazard control and ventilation, rock burst control, roadway layout and so on. Key problems needed to study further are: rock status and stress field and its distribution characteristics; gas disaster prevention technologies and equipments; rapid excavation and support technology of roadways (especially in soft rocks) and related equipments; techniques of rock burst control and technology of its monitoring and control; techniques of productive and efficient exploitation; technology and equipments of thermal hazard control. This is also the content wanted to be covered by the theme of this forum.

More than 100 articles from China, Poland and Australia were received, edited into two separate volumes, including: theory and technology of mine gas control, technology of mine gas utilization, integrated coal exploitation and gas extraction, theory and technology of fire prevention and control in mines, theory and technology of heat hazard prevention and control in mines, theory and technology of rock burst prevention and control in deep mines, theory and technology of roadway support in deep mines, technology of roadway rapid excavation and other related areas of research.

I would like to thank the authors and counterparts experts and scholars home and abroad for their support of the forum. I believe the forum will be successful.

I would like to express my thanks to the Materials and Engineering Division of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Engineering Research Center of Coal Mine Gas Control, Anhui Coal Institute, Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute of Polish Academy of Sciences and Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Safety and Efficient Exploitation of Ministry of Education of China for support to the forum.

Chairman of Organizing Committee, IMF 2010 (Huainan, China) 

Professor Liu Zegong 

August 2010