Background  Coal mining geology provides the foundation for efficient coal mining, as well as hazard prevention and control. Based on the revision to China's normative documents entitled Regulations on Geological Work in Coal Mines and Detailed Rules for Geological Work in Coal Mines, the exploration of technologies for coal mining geology, and considerable experience in coal mine production practices, this study systematically reviews the advances in geological guarantee technologies for safe, efficient, and intelligent coal mining in China over the past four decades.

Advances Six aspects of advances have been primarily achieved in geological guarantee technologies in China: (1) The conceptual framework of geological guarantee has evolved from coal resource guarantee to the assurance of safe and efficient mining and then to the assurance of safe, efficient, and intelligent mining; (2) A multiple generations of technologies and equipment for comprehensive geological exploration that consider surface-subface, local-regional, and static-dynamic factors and integrate drilling-geophysical methods have been developed. Among these, representative techniques include underground directional drilling, seismic-while-mining detection, and long-distance tunning and detection; (3) Techniques and equipment applicable to diverse geological conditions have been researched and developed for active, advance regional prevention and control of geological hazards, including gas outburst, water inrush, rockburst, geothermal hazards, and slope failure; (4) Thirteen categories of hidden disaster-causing factors threatening mine safety have been identified. Accordingly, a general survey framework for these factors, characterized by thorough investigation, periodic reconnaissance surveys, and dynamic updating, has been established; (5) Geological information representation has been transformed from traditional point, line, and plane descriptions to electronic, information-based, and digital data, contributing to the establishment of transparent geology-centered geological guarantee systems for intelligent coal mining; (6) Mechanisms for ensuring work related to coal mining geology that feature well-defined organizations, sound systems, and clearly defined responsibilities have been established. These mechanisms render the work more institutionalized, specialized, and standardized. These advances have robustly underpinned the leap-forward development of China's coal industry. From 1985 to 2024, the coal production of the country surged from 0.872 billion tons to 4.78 billion tons, representing a 5.48-fold increase. Concurrently, the average single-mine capacity increased from less than 0.1 Mt/a to over 1.4 Mt/a, while the fatality rate per million tons of produced coals dropped from 7.63 to 0.054.

Prospect To meet the demand for safe, efficient, intelligent, and environmentally sustainable coal mining, this study proposes future development directions, including the intelligent interpretation of geological exploration data from coal mines, eco-geological assurance for damage-minimized mining, and geological guarantee technologies for in situ exploitation of deep coal resources.