Wireless sensor networks are useful complements to existing monitoring systems in underground mines.They play an important role of enhancing and improving coverage and flexibility of safety monitoring systems. Regions prone to danger and enyironments after disasters in underground mines require saving and balancing energy consumption of nodes to prolong the lifespan of networks. Based on the structure of a tunnel, we present a Long Chain-type Wireless Sensor Network (LC-WSN) to monitor the safety of underground mine tunnels. We define the optimal transmission distance and the range of the key region and present an Energy Optimal Routing (EOR) algorithm for LC-WSN to balance the energy consumption of nodes and maximize the lifespan of networks. EOR constructs routing paths based on an optimal transmission distance and uses an energy balancing strategy in the key region. Simulation results show that the EOR algorithm extends the lifespan of a network, balances the energy consumption of nodes in the key region and effectively limits the length of routing paths, compared with similar algorithms.