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