Mining_Methods_UnderGround_Mining - Mining and Blasting

increasing outputs at lkaB
iron ore mines
Optimum
techniques
Mining of the
Kirunavaara orebody
Exploration drift
1060 m
For more than 40 years, the miners
of LKAB in the far north of Sweden
have been working to get as close
as possible to the optimum underground
mining technique. At
Kiruna, in what is the world's largest
underground iron ore operation,
many milestones have been
reached and passed. Now another
is on the horizon as the mine takes
new steps to go deeper and ex-
pand. Sister mine Malmberget is
also expanding output, albeit on
a lesser scale. Key to both is a
collaboration with Atlas Copco
that is providing specialized drilling
equipment together with the
means of maintenance.
2005
2000
1990
1980
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1965
1970
1045 m Main haulage level
1365 m New haulage level
Continuous quest
Skip hoisting
Skip hoisting
Ore beneficiation plant
The Swedish state-owned mining company
LKAB is on a continuous quest
for the most favourable balance possible
in the relationship between ore recovery,
waste dilution, overall costs and
productivity. Much of the development
work done here has been carried out in
close cooperation with equipment suppliers,
including Atlas Copco.
LKAB's relationship with Atlas Copco
began in the early 1960s, with mechanized
drilling equipment which was the
predecessor of today’s automated longhole
production drilling system.
In 1997, Atlas Copco supplied LKAB
with four Simba W469 drill rigs equipped
with a PLC control system. This
kiruna, Sweden
technology is now being successively
upgraded with the latest generation
of rigs equipped with a PC-based Rig
Control System RCS, the Simba W6 C
fitted with LKAB's Wassara W100 inthe-hole
hammer.
LKAB operates two large mines
north of the Arctic Circle, where its
Kiruna and Malmberget mines together
supply about 4% of the iron ore requirements
of the world’s steel industry. With
no sign of a slow down in demand, the
company has ambitious plans for the
future. These include new main haulage
levels at both mines, which this year
alone will require the development of
some 40 km of new drifts.
The modern Simba production drilling
rigs have made a clear difference in
underground mining methods 59
Crusher
Crusher
Railway to Narvik port
Sea level
Ore buffer
pockets
Mining of the Kirunavaara orebody over the last century.
Nivå m
0
142
230
275
320
420
540
740
775
1045
1175
1365