Mining-induced seismicity (MIS) poses significant hazards in deep underground mining dominated by hard and extremely thick rock strata (HETRS), where strong seismic events may still occur even in the absence of major geological structures. To clarify the failure mechanism and energy-driven evolution of MIS under such conditions, a large-scale discrete element numerical model was established using UDEC and applied to the 6304 working face of the Dongtan Coal Mine, China. The spatiotemporal evolution of stress redistribution, displacement, energy conversion, and MIS development during HETRS failure was systematically investigated. The results indicate that mining beneath the HETRS induces significant vertical stress reduction and shear stress rotation, leading to intensive failure and seismic activity concentrated in the lower and middle portions of the HETRS. The height of MIS development increases with mining advance but exhibits a decelerating growth trend. Energy analysis reveals that MIS is driven by the coupled conversion of elastic strain energy and gravitational potential energy, and a critical mining stage characterized by rapid seismic energy release and elevated hazard potential is identified. Based on the identified failure mechanism and energy evolution characteristics, targeted mitigation strategies are proposed and validated through numerical and field comparisons. The findings provide new insights into progressive-fracture-controlled MIS mechanism and offer practical guidance for seismic hazard mitigation in fault-free deep mining regions dominated by HETRS.
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Cao et al. (2026) studied this question.