Cherno more mines are located in the central part of the coal basin. The area is a plate region with elevation of 5-6 m. The coal seams in the region are mined up to the depth of 20 to 300m below the surface. The slope of the coal layers in the area of Cherno more mines is about 8-10 degrees. The coal excavation started in 1918 with the construction of the first built drift near the village Cherno more and terminated in 1988 with the closing of Blagoev mine.

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General scheme of mines construction

Coal Field	Depleted area	Period of Exploitation	Average mine water inflow during exploitation	Mine water pumped during the exploitation
dimension	m2	years	V/s	m3( yearly)
Brigadir	540 000	1952-1972	30,6	963 000
D.Blagoev	_	1964-1988	7,0 - 8,0	236 000
9.IX.	995 000	1943-1977	22,0 - 41,6	693 000

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Vertical shaft in “9.IX.” coal mine

Ground water in Cherno more mines is accessible only in “9.IX.” mine by a vertical shaft of 3m diameter and current depth of 117 m. The shaft intersects five water seams and the total flow rate from them amounts to about 48 l/s (173 m3/h). The shaft could be considered as a self recharging reservoir of volume 826 m3. A part of the shaft station around the bottom of the vertical shaft is probably not destroyed.