Tectonic control law and zoning division of coalmine gas occurrence in Shanxi Province

Abstract

The frequent occurrence of gas disasters in coal mines is primarily attributed to an unclear understanding of gas occurrence laws. Tectonic control law of coalmine gas occurrence in Shanxi Province was analyzed by utilizing massive gas-geology data of Shanxi Province coal mine, as well as insights from studies on gas occurrence patterns and their impact on coal mine safety. Furthermore, gas zoning division and its characteristics has been discussed. Shanxi Province is located in the middle of the North China block, between two East-West trending giant tectonic belts (Qinling tectonic belts and Inner Mongolia tectonic belts) in the north and south, and also in the North-Northeast trending Daxinganling-Taihang Mountain tectonic belt, and its coal forming environment and gas occurrence are controlled by its tectonic evolution. During the Indosinian period, in most parts of Shanxi Province, continuous deposition of Triassic and Permian sediments facilitated coal metamorphism and hydrocarbon generation. Yanshan movement resulted in fold and thrust nappe zones, with coal bodies compressed into tectonic coal, favoring gas outbursts. At the same time, following a series of magmatic activities during the Yanshanian period, the degree of coal metamorphism increased and secondary hydrocarbon generation occurred. During the Himalayan period, compression was gradually replaced by tension. After a series of tension rifting, the mountains of the Loess Plateau experienced denudation, facilitating the escape of gas. Gas occurrence zoning in Shanxi Province was categorized into three high gas outburst belts and two low gas belts, namely, the Qinshui Basin, Hedong coalfield, and Xuangang Xishan’s three high gas outburst belts, North Shanxi uplift and Fenwei rift two low gas belts.

Keywords

Gas occurrence tectonic control tectonic evolution gas-geology gas zoning

Introduction

As the main energy source in China, coal accounts for more than 67% of primary energy consumption, and coal will still be the main energy source in China for a long time in the future. With the improvement of coal mine laws and regulations, the continuous improvement of the coal mine safety production responsibility system and technical equipment, since 2018, the mortality rate per million tons of coal mines in China has dropped to <0.1, but in 2023, the number of deaths per million tons of coal mines in China is still 0.094 (Coal Information Network, 2021). In terms of serious accidents, gas accidents continue to be prevalent, causing significant casualties, such as coal and gas outbursts and explosions. The unclear mechanisms of gas occurrence are the root cause of frequent disasters. (Zhao et al., 2025b). Therefore, understanding the law of gas occurrence holds the key to unlocking the iron door of gas control at its very source (Zhang, 2009).

Zhang and Wu, 2013 compiled 1:2.5 million coal mine gas-geology map in China, further deepening the theory and technological roadmap of the gradual tectonic control for coalmine gas occurrence. It categorizes the geological structure controlling coalmine gas occurrence in China into 10 major types and 30 regions, laying an important foundation for analyzing the gas occurrence mechanism. Zhu Xingshan et al. (1994), Qin Hengjie et al. (2021), Guo Deyong et al. (2023), Zhao Zheng et al. (2025a), and Zhao Junli et al. (2022) believed that the stress field of the structure plays a controlling role in gas outbursts. Guo Deyong et al. (1998), BG and Huang, 2002, Liu Dameng et al. (2024), Pan Chao et al. (2013), and Li Weiwei et al. (2025) studied the impact of different geological structure types on gas outbursts. Zhang Yugui et al. (2013), Cheng Yuanping et al. (2013), and Jia Tianrang et al. (2022) believed that tectonic coal has a controlling effect on gas outbursts. Studies on the gas occurrence laws in Shanxi Province have mainly focused on individual mining areas and mine-level gas occurrence laws (Han, 2018; Fan, 2019; Zhang, 2019), with no reports on provincial-scale gas occurrence laws and zoning.

In Shanxi Province, there are 261 coal mines with gas outbursts and high gas emissions, with an annual production capacity of 550 million tons, accounting for nearly half of the total production capacity of mines. According to statistics, from 2019 to July 2022, there were eight gas accidents in Shanxi Province, resulting in 28 deaths. Among them, there were three gas outburst accidents, two gas explosion accidents, one accident involving gas limits being exceeded, and one gas combustion accident, causing significant losses to the country and people, as illustrated in Table 1. Therefore, studying the geological structure control laws and gas zoning of gas occurrence in Shanxi Province has an important guiding significance for the prevention and control of coal mine gas disasters.

Table 1.

Gas accidents statistics in Shanxi Province from 2019 to 2022.

Serial number	Time	Mine name	Accident type	Gas level	Death toll
1	2019-3-15	Shanxi Pingding Guzhou Coal Industry Co., Ltd Yangsheng Coal Industry	Gas combustion	High gas mine	3
2	2019-06-03	Shanxi Pingding Guzhou Coal Industry Co., Ltd Yangsheng Coal Industry	Gas explosion	High gas mine	2
3	2019-11-18	Shanxi Pingyao Fengyan Coal and Coke Group Co., Ltd Ermugou Coal Industry	Gas explosion	Low gas mine	15
4	2020-10-20	Shanxi Lu'an Group Co., Ltd Zuoquan Fusheng Coal Industry	Gas outburst	Outburst mine	4
5	2021-03-25	Shanxi Huayang Group Co., Ltd Shigang Coal Industry	Gas outburst	Outburst mine	4
6	2022-04-26	Shanxi Yangcheng Yangtai Group Co., Ltd Jingxin Coal Industry	Gas outburst	Outburst mine	0
7	2022-05-27	Shanxi Linxian Huaye Coal Industry	Gas exceeding limit	High gas mine	0
8	2022-06-13	Shanxi Xiyang Fenghui Coal Industry Co., Ltd Fenghui Coal Industry	Gas exceeding limit	High gas mine	0

Division of structural units in Shanxi Province

Shanxi Province is tectonically located in the middle of the North China block, having undergone intricate tectonic processes, sedimentation, magmatism, metamorphism, and mineralization over a geological span of approximately three billion years, with its geological structure exhibiting uneven distribution across time and space (Yang, 2019). Based on the spatiotemporal evolution, combination laws, and dynamic systems of structural deformation in Shanxi Province, along with sedimentary evolution characteristics and coal bearing distribution, integrated with deep geophysical data, YANG Shouhong (Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, 1989) divided the Mesozoic and Cenozoic intraplate structural units in Shanxi Province into 6 level Ⅲ structural units and 14 level Ⅳ structural units (Figure 1 and Table 2). According to the Jurassic sedimentary characteristics of Ordos, Datong, and Ningwu, the Datong Coalfield and Ningwu Coalfield were unified Ordos Jurassic basins, and the northern end of the Ningwu Coalfield and the Datong Coalfield were classified into the Ordos intraplate depression zone with regional faults as the boundary.

Figure 1.

Zoning map of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic intraplate structures in Shanxi Province.

Table 2.

Zoning map of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic intraplate structures in Shanxi Province.

Levels I and II structural units		Level III structural unit	Level IV structural unit
I	II	Level III structural unit	Level IV structural unit
Tarim North China Plate	North China Block	III₁: Intraplate activity zone on the northern edge of North China	III₁-1:Uplift of the Helingeer-Fengzhen plate
		III₂: Ordos intraplate depression zone	III₂-1: Eastern margin plate depression of Ordos
		III₂: Ordos intraplate depression zone	III₂-2:Northeastern margin plate depression of Ordos
		III₃: Yanshan intraplate rift zone	III₃-1: Lingqiu-Huailai Plate Depression
		III₄: Shanxi intraplate orogenic belt	III₄-1: Uplift of the Mount Wutai-Luliang Mountain plate
			III₄-2: Qinshui plate Depression
			III₄-3: Uplift of the Taihang Mountains plate
		III₅: Intraplate activity zone on the southern edge of North China	III₅-1: Uplift of the Zhongtiaoshan-Jiaozuo plate
		III₆: Fenwei plate internal rift zone	III₆-1: Sanggan River Basin
			III₆-2: Hutuo River Basin
			III₆-3:Taiyuan-Jinzhong Basin
			III₆-4: Linfen Basin
			III₆-5: Yuncheng Basin
			III₆-6: Ruicheng Basin

Tectonic control law of gas occurrence in Shanxi Province

Characteristics of coal-bearing strata

The coal-bearing strata include the Middle Carboniferous Benxi Formation, the Upper Carboniferous Taiyuan Formation, the Lower Permian Shanxi Formation, the Lower Jurassic Datong Formation, and the Paleogene and Neogene coal-bearing strata in certain regions. Among them, the Taiyuan Formation, Shanxi Formation, and Datong Formation are the main coal-bearing strata in Shanxi Province. Among the identified coal reserves, long-flame coal, nonsticky coal, weakly caking coal, and lean coal account for 24.21%, gas coal, fertile coal, coking coal, and lean coal constitute 58.12% of the total, while anthracite coal comprises 17.50%, and lignite makes up only 0.17%. The coal distribution characteristics are low metamorphism in the north and high metamorphism in the south.

Tectonic control characteristics of gas occurrence

During the Caledonian orogeny, the northern Siberian plate and the southern South China block relatively subducted and compressed the Tarim-North China plate. As a result, the North China region rose to become a landmass. The amplitude of uplift in Shanxi Province is higher than at the northern and southern ends, with the western part exhibiting a greater rise than the eastern part, forming a “winnow-shaped basin,” which became the base of the coal-forming basin in the Late Paleozoic.

The Caledonian movement, the relative subduction and extrusion of the Tarim-North China plate by the northern Siberian plate and the southern South China land block, the amplitude of uplift in Shanxi Province is higher than at the northern and southern ends, with the western part exhibiting a greater rise than the eastern part, which is a “dustpan-like basin,” which has become the foundation of the Late Paleozoic coal-gathering basin. From the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian, the ancient Mongolian sea gradually closed from west to east, and at the same time, the northern part of the North China land mass gradually subsided into a shallow sea, and the topography of Shanxi showed the characteristics of low in the north and high in the south, and the seawater bypassed the orogenic belt on the northern edge of North China and invaded the northern part of Shanxi Province from east to west. With the long-distance effect of the strong uplift of the plate margin orogenic in North China, the land mass gradually rose from north to south and from west to east, while the surface sea water retreated southeastward, eventually transformed into a vast inland river and lake basin that accumulated terrigenous clastic deposits. In the process of sea entry and retreat, the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian surface sea-type coal-accumulation basin was formed. The gas formed during the coal-forming process escaped into the atmosphere.

After the Carboniferous-Permian coal seam was formed, it experienced the Indosinian, Yanshan, and Himalayan tectonic movements.

During the Indosinian period, with the formation of the orogenic belt on the northern margin of North China and the eventual closure of the Qilian-Qinling trough in the south, the Yangtze and North China blockes finally merged. During the collision, the compression of the northern and southern landmasses led to uneven uplift and tilt of the North China block. The topography characterized by uplift in the east and depression in the west was shaped with the Taihang Mountains as the boundary. The Triassic and Permian strata in most areas of Shanxi Province were continuously deposited, which was conducive to increasing coal metamorphism and hydrocarbon generation. However, continuous uplift in northern Shanxi Province resulted in the absence of Triassic strata in the Datong area and the lack of Lower Jurassic and middle Jurassic strata in the Ningwu Basin. The lack of stratum was conducive to the escape of gas in the Carboniferous-Permian coal seam.

In the early stage of the Yanshan movement (Late Triassic-Early Jurassic), Shanxi Province was basically in a state of uplift, which was conducive to gas escape. During the Middle Jurassic, there was a northwest-southeast trending extrusion process, leading to the formation of basin and mountain features, initially resulting in the formation of the large Ordos Jurassic basin in the west, with its eastern extension being the Datong-Yungang Basin in Shanxi Province. Following the successive activities of the Dujiacun-Loufan and Luoyunshan thrust fault zones, the Lvliangshan-Wutai Mountain plate uplift continued to rise, forming two Middle Jurassic basins, Ningwu and Qinshui, on both sides of which Jurassic coal measures and Middle Jurassic River Lake clastic rock measures were deposited.

In the middle stage of the Yanshan movement, with the further compression of the North China Block by the Pacific Plate, the Shanxi Loess Plateau and the eastern plain were developed with the Daxing’anling–Taihang Mountain–Wuling Mountain gravity gradient zone as the boundary. Along with the magmatic activity in the deep crust mantle, Mesozoic alkaline magma intrusions, volcanic activity, and a series of northeast trending fold and thrust tectonic belts were formed. In the process of the formation of fold and thrust nappe structures, the coal body was destroyed by compression and shearing, and tectonic coal was formed. Generally, the inclined axis is conducive to gas preservation, while the anticline axis is conducive to gas escape.

In the late stage of the Yanshan movement (Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous), the deep mantle plume was uplifted, and magmatic and volcanic activities were frequent, forming an abnormally high thermal geothermal field in the Qinshui Basin and other areas, which led to the superposition of abnormal thermal superimposed metamorphism, mainly regional magmatic thermal metamorphism, on the basis of deep metamorphism of the Carboniferous-Permian coal, increasing the degree of coal metamorphism and secondary hydrocarbon generation.

During the Himalayan period, in Shanxi Province, uplift and rifting occurred tunder the background of overall extensional tectonics, primarily influenced by inherited fault activities and intercrustal uplift, which leading to the formation of the Fenwei rift system and the two sides of the overall uplift that stretched from north to south across Shanxi Province, resulting in denudation of the Loess Plateau. Extensional cracking and uplift denudation were beneficial for gas escape.

Gas occurrence zones and characteristics in Shanxi Province

The overall distribution characteristic of coal mine gas in Shanxi Province shows lower in the north and higher in the south. Based on the collection of 3373 coal seam gas contents, 566 coal seam gas pressures, over 4 million gas emission volumes, and 245 pairs of mine gas-geology maps, the regional tectonic control types of gas occurrence in Shanxi Province were classified into four types: craton control type, regional tectonic tension and rift control type, regional tectonic uplift and denudation control type, and orogenic belt pushing control type, according to the regional tectonic control types of gas occurrence in Chinese coal mines. Based on this, the coalmine gas occurrence in Shanxi Province was divided into five zones, namely Qinshui basin high gas outburst belt, Hedong coalfield high gas outburst belt, Xuangang-Xishan high gas outburst belt, North Shanxi uplift low gas belt and Fenwei rift low gas belt, as shown in Figure 2 and Table 3. Qinshui basin high gas outburst belt and Hedong coalfield high gas outburst belt belong to the craton control type, Xuangang-Xishan high gas outburst belt belongs to the orogenic belt pushing control type, North Shanxi uplift low gas belt belongs to the regional tectonic uplift and denudation control type, and Fenwei rift low gas belt belongs to the regional tectonic tension and rift control type.

Figure 2.

Coal mines gas geology map in Shanxi Province.

Table 3.

Distribution characteristics of coal mine gas in Shanxi Province.

Number	Zone name	Types of geological structure control	Mining area name	Outburst mines (pairs)	High gas mines (pairs)	$\frac{Maximum gas pressure / M P a}{elevation / m \| burial depth / m}$	$\frac{Maximum gas content / (m^{3} / t)}{elevation / m \| burial depth / m}$	Initial outburst depth(m)	Number of outburst
1	Qinshui Basin high gas outburst belt	Craton control type	Jincheng	14	43	$\frac{2.10}{288 \| 450}$	$\frac{28.97}{290 \| 450}$	210.0	5
			Lu'an	0	13	$\frac{2.38}{407 \| 521}$	$\frac{24.04}{209.33 \| 742.46}$	∼	0
			Yangquan	13	53	$\frac{4.3}{757 \| 450}$	$\frac{36.25}{562.11 \| 495.85}$	185.75	228
			Wuxia	4	16	$\frac{1.13}{527 \| 473}$	$\frac{24.04}{550.0 \| 456.0}$	∼	0
			Huodong	0	19	$\frac{0.55}{777 \| 390}$	$\frac{10.56}{1028.0 \| 182.0}$	∼	0
			Dongshan	0	2	∼	$\frac{8.46}{810.0 \| 315.0}$	∼	0
2	Xuangang-Xishan high gas outburst belt	Orogenic belt pushing control type	Xishan	1	10	$\frac{1.8}{690 \| 413}$	$\frac{16.5}{755.78 \| 375.6}$	∼	0
			Xuangang	0	2	$\frac{0.91}{915 \| 430}$	$\frac{7.11}{915 \| 430}$	∼	0
			Lanxian		1	∼	$\frac{2.19}{1003.8 \| 270.3}$	∼	0
3	Hedong coalfield high gas outburst bel	Craton control type	Hebaopian	0	1	$\frac{1.55}{556.5 \| 467.0}$	$\frac{7.81}{556.5 \| 476.0}$	∼	0
			Shixi			∼	∼	∼	0
			Liliu	1	22	$\frac{4.59}{113.6 \| 703.7}$	$\frac{17.82}{237.9 \| 775.05}$	445.0	2
			Xiangning	0	3	∼	$\frac{13.17}{175.5 \| 490.0}$	∼	0
4	North Shanxi uplift low gas belt	Regional tectonic uplift denudation control type	Pingshuo Mining	0	0	∼	$\frac{2.34}{1190 \| 209}$	∼	∼
4	North Shanxi uplift low gas belt	Regional tectonic uplift denudation control type	Datong	0	12	$\frac{0.9}{923.6 \| 327.4}$	∼	∼	∼
5	Fenwei rift low gas belt	Regional tectonic tension and rift control type	Huozhou	0	1	$\frac{0.72}{210.0 \| 673.4}$	$\frac{7.42}{210.0 \| 673.44}$	∼	∼
5	Fenwei rift low gas belt	Regional tectonic tension and rift control type	Fenxi	0	3	∼	$\frac{26.62}{100.72 \| 642.0}$	∼	∼

Qinshui basin high gas outburst belt

The entire belt is located in the Qinshui block depression, with a small part situates on the Taihang mountain platform uplift. At present, high gas mines and outburst mines are all distributed on the Qinshui block depression, and the mines located on the Taihang mountain platform uplift are all low gas mines.

This belt mainly encompasses 6 coal mining areas including Jincheng, Lu'an, Yangquan, Wuxia, and Huodong, among which the outburst mining areas are Jincheng, Lu'an, Yangquan, Wuxia, and Huodong mining areas. The Jincheng mining area includes 14 pairs of outburst mines and 43 pairs of high gas mines with the maximum gas pressure of 2.10 MPa and the maximum gas content of 28.97 m³/t, Lu'an mining area includes 13 pairs of high gas mines with the maximum gas pressure of 2.38 MPa and the maximum gas content of 24.04 m³/t and the Yangquan mining area includes 13 pairs of outburst mines and 53 pairs of high gas mines with the maximum gas pressure of 4.30 MPa and the maximum gas content of 36.25 m³/t.

This belt is dominated by primary tectonic coal, with categories II–III tectonic coal only locally developed at the basin margins and in structural areas. Its coal seam permeability is the best in high gas areas, which is the fundamental reason why it has become the most successful area for commercial development of coalbed methane in China (Wang et al., 2021).

Xuangang-Xishan high gas outburst belt

This belt is located on the Taiyuan block depression, Ningwu-Jingle block depression and Lvliang mountain–Wutai mountain block uplift of the Wutai mountain–Lvliang mountain platform uplift, mainly including Xishan, Xuangang, and Lanxian three mining areas. The Xishan mining area comprises 1 pair of outburst mine and 10 pairs of high gas mines with the maximum gas pressure of 1.80 MPa, and the maximum gas content of 16.5 m³/t. The Xuangang mining area includes 2 pairs of high gas mines with the maximum gas pressure of 0.91 MPa and the maximum gas content 7.1 m³/t.

Hedong coalfield high gas outburst belt

The belt is located in the eastern margin of Ordos, mainly including Hebaobian, Shixi, Liliu, and Xiangning four mining areas, among which the outburst mining area is Liliu mining area. Hebao mine area includes 1 pair of high gas mine with the maximum gas pressure of 1.55 MPa and the maximum gas content of 7.81 m³/t. Liliu mining area includes 1 pair of outburst mine and 22 pairs of high gas mines, with the maximum gas pressure 4.59 MPa and the maximum gas content 17.82 m³/t. Xiangning mine area includes 3 pairs of high gas mine with the maximum gas content of 13.17 m³/t.

North Shanxi uplift low gas belt

This belt is located in the northeastern margin of Ordos, mainly including Datong and Pingshuo two mining areas. After the deposition of the Carboniferous-Permian coal seam, the area has been in a state of uplift and denudation, without depositing Triassic strata. It was not until the Yanshan period that sedimentation was accepted to form the Jurassic coal basin, where a large amount of gas was released. In the late Yanshan period (Late Jurassic), the area was in a state of uplift. The Jurassic coal seam has a low degree of metamorphism and a small amount of hydrocarbon generation. Datong mine area includes 12 pairs of high gas mines with the maximum gas pressure of 0.90 MPa. Pingshuo mine area has only 1 pair of gas mine with the maximum gas content of 2.34 m³/t.

Fenwei rift low gas belt

The belt is located in the Linfen Basin of the Fenwei rift zone and the Huoxi block depression of Wutai mountain-Lvliangshan platform uplift, mainly including Huozhou and Fenxi two mine areas. The belt is predominantly influenced by tension and rift, resulting in a large amount of gas emission. The Huozhou mining area includes 1 pair of high gas mine with the maximum gas pressure of 0.72 MPa and the maximum gas content of 7.42 m³/t. Fenxi mining area includes 3 pairs of high gas mines, with the maximum gas content of 26.62 m³/t.

Conclusion

Shanxi Province is located in the central part of the North China block, sandwiches between two nearly East-West trending oriented giant tectonic belts (Qinling and Inner Mongolia), and also situates in the west of North-Northeast trending oriented Daxing'anling-Taihang Mountain tectonic belt, namely the gravity gradient belt in eastern China. The coal-forming environment and gas occurrence are controlled by their tectonic evolution.

Yanshan movement established the regional geological structure pattern in Shanxi Province. During this process, a series of synclines and thrust fault zones with Jurassic strata as their cores, arranged in the northeast trending en-echelon pattern, were formed. The coal body was damaged by squeeze and shear, resulting in the formation of tectonic coal, which is the important cause of gas outburst.

Based on the regional geological structural units and the geological structural control laws of coalmine gas occurrence in Shanxi Province, coalmine gas occurrence in Shanxi Province were divided into three high gas outburst belts and two low gas belts, namely the Qinshui Basin high gas outburst belt, the Hedong coalfield high gas outburst belt, the Xuangang Xishan high gas outburst belt, the North Shanxi uplift low gas belt, and the Fenwei rift low gas belt, and their structural control characteristics and gas occurrence characteristics were analyzed.

The high-gas outburst belt in the Qinshui Basin is dominated by primary tectonic coal, with only Category II–III tectonic coal locally developed at the basin margins and in structural zones. Its coal seam permeability is the best in high gas areas, which is the fundamental reason why it has become the most successful area for commercial development of coalbed methane in China.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Thanks to all the individuals involved in this research, their contributions have had a crucial impact on the results of this study.

ORCID iDs

Tianrang Jia

Weiwei Li

Funding

The Fundamental Research Funds for the Universities of Henan Province, National Natural Science Foundation of China Project, (grant number NSFRF240301, 42402185).

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Availability of data and materials

All data included in this study are available upon request from the corresponding author.

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