Abstract:
The Jinchuan mining area is the largest nickel production base in China. However, the surface deformation in the mining area has not been monitored since 2018 when the plan for restoring mining was proposed. Based on the Sentinel-1A data of three orbits (ascending orbit 128 and descending orbits 33 and 135), this study obtained the 3D surface deformation rates and time-series displacement by applying the small baseline subset InSAR (SBAS-InSAR) and the least-squares iterative method combining prior conditions. The results are as follows. Three large deformation areas have formed in three mining areas (i.e., the Longshou, Xi‘er, and Dongsan mines). The deformation in these areas is primarily present as surface subsidence, with the maximum vertical subsidence and subsidence rate (i.e., -408.9 mm and -162.8 mm/a, respectively) occurring in the Xi’er Mine. For the Longshou Mine, the southwestern and northeastern slopes contract toward ore veins. For the Xi’er and Dongsan mines, the deformation areas show similar displacement directions, that is, the eastern and western sides of subsidence funnels contract toward ore veins. The surface deformation in the Jinchuan mining area is closely related to man-machine mining, geological faults, and lithologic structures. Among them, man-machine mining is the main cause for the surface deformation, while faults and lithologic structures serve as the controlling factors of the surface deformation. The results of this study will provide theoretical support for safe production and mining planning in the Jinchuan mining area.