During a special historical period, shallow coal seams in northern Shaanxi suffered from a large number of illegal open-pit mining and overexploitation due to spontaneous combustion control, resulting in a wide area of goaf, strong concealment, and difficult exploration, which has seriously affected the safe mining of shallow coal seams. To solve the above-mentioned problems, a comprehensive exploration technology combining historical satellite images, oblique photography, and geophysics was applied to the goaf exploration in a Shenfu mine of northern Shaanxi under complex conditions. The historical satellite image data reveals obvious mining traces in the southwest side of P2 waste dump and other areas. By comparing oblique photography, the approximate distribution range of the mining site and hidden goaf can be further divided. On this basis, a reasonable arrangement of geophysical survey lines was made, and the results showed that the electrical layer corresponding to the coal-bearing strata under the P2 waste dump was significantly lacking in high resistance characteristics in local areas. Among them, the resistivity of coal-bearing strata between the high-density resistivity method ERT-3 measuring line (0~225 m) decreased from 120 Ω· m to below 60 Ω· m, and the resistivity of coal-bearing strata between the transient electromagnetic method TEM-2 measuring line (0~80 m) decreased from 160 Ω· m to around 60 Ω· m. Finally, the distribution boundaries of concealed goaf were determined by combining historical satellite imagery, drone oblique photography, high-density resistivity method, and transient electromagnetic method results. The advantages of the above multiple methods complement each other, which can achieve high-precision, high-efficiency, and low-cost exploration of goaf under complex conditions.

goaf  /  high-density resistivity method  /  transient electromagnetic method  /  oblique photography  /  historical satellite imagery  /  shallow buried coal seam  /  northern Shaanxi