This paper presents some results of the laboratory tests on the time-dependent behaviour of three types of sandstone. Research into the rheological properties of rocks is mostly done under static (quasistatic) loading. In nature, however, rocks are also often subjected to cyclic (vibration) loading as a result of vibrations from traffic or the propagation of seismic waves due to, for example, earthquakes, rock bursts, blasting operations and such like. On this account, the research presented is focused on the study of rheological rock properties during vibration (cyclic) loading. The tests of the rheological properties of a cyclic load were conducted both in creep regime and in relaxation regime, at various levels of average load or strain and for various parameters of vibration (frequency, amplitude). The measured values of different parameter settings were compared and evaluated so that it was possible to set the dependence of cyclical rock loading in the rheological regime. For the purpose of the comparison of rock behavior during vibration and static loading, other tests were also carried out. The results of the research show that, in the course of cyclical loading, the rock rheological properties depend, to a significant extent, on the parameters of this loading, especially the amplitude and frequency.

This study of the strength and deformation of coal samples was triggered by the need to define the stress–strain characteristics of pillars during room and pillar mining in the shaft protective pillar at the ČSM Mine. It was probably the world’s deepest deployment of this mining method in a coal mine. In order to solve the bearing capacity of pillars, the dependence of coal strength on the slenderness ratio is used. For this reason, coal samples with different slenderness ratios were investigated. After considering the purpose of this research, slenderness ratios (width/height) of 1 to 7.7 were chosen. At the same time, the modulus of deformation as a function of the slenderness ratio was determined, and the vertical deformation of the pillars and the safety factor were calculated. Attention is also paid to the influence of sampling on the results of measured coal strengths.

In the areas with long-lasting coal mining (many centuries ago) a number of old mining works have emerged as a communication channel for uncontrolled methane outputs. Disposal of these underground areas represents not only a technical but also an economically challenging task, which requires a combination of technical knowledge from the use of materials and the creation of free spaces with an emphasis on high environmental protection. Semi-fluid mixtures based on fly ash and cement binder and waste sand bits appear to be the ideal solution for filling these open spaces in terms of their behavior and production economics. These building filler compounds are able to prevent the transport of mining gases at individual discontinuous sites of the mining environment. Their final strengths will ensure the stability of the sanitized site and at the same time will prevent the further creation of communication spaces of the surrounding rock environment.

In the coming decades, mineral extraction will cease at several locations in the Czech Republic. This article examines the transformation of these sites into natural carbon storage reservoirs after mining has ceased. This innovative approach supports sustainable land use, helps mitigate climate change, and restores ecological landscape functions.