The owner of a mine in this State, or any person in possession under a lease or other contract, may maintain an action to recover damages to such property arising from the operation of any adjacent mine by the owner thereof or other person in possession and working the same under lease or contract, and also to prevent the continuance of the operation of the adjacent mine in such a manner as to injure or endanger the safety of the complainant's mine.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 74-33