Associated Event
Fifth International Conference on Block and Sublevel Caving
30 August – 1 September 2022 | Hilton Adelaide, South Australia
After the Big Bang Workshop
Rehabilitation and resumption of production in Block 22 at the Kiruna mine after the 4.2 magnitude seismic event
The ACG’s priority is the safety and well-being of the delegates and speakers of this event. All attendees are strongly encouraged to attend in person; the ACG looks forward to welcoming many cave mining industry professionals to Adelaide in August 2022. Worldwide delegates are able to participate via a leading online event platform.
Click here to view the list of attending companies.
Workshop Host
Click here to view the workshop program.
Objectives
The Kiirunavaara mine situated in northern Sweden is the largest sublevel caving operation in the world with an average annual production of 27 Mt. On 18 May 2020, the mine experienced a seismic event that was, by far, larger than anything previously experienced. Based on the regional seismic networks, the moment magnitude was estimated to be 4.2. The magnitude estimation of the regional networks was used since the size of the event exceeded the range of the mine’s seismic system. The event occurred in the central part of the mine and caused major damage to the footwall infrastructure, over a length of around 700 m on several sublevels.
Following the event, the mine started a concentrated effort to rehabilitate and restart the central production blocks under Block 22 Project. The mine has worked intensively since August 2020 on this project and is expected to start production by Q2 2022. In this workshop, the problem statement, the challenges, and the proposed solution for resuming production in the central blocks will be presented for the international caving community. The two primary objectives of the workshop are:
- Share experiences from the project
- Generate active audience inputs on possible improvements
Who should attend
Participants who are interested in learning about the different aspects of caving operations including: geotechnical
challenges, seismic analysis, rehabilitation strategies, numerical modelling, mine instrumentation, mining sequence, mine planning and draw control.
Workshop will be recorded for LKAB records only. Recording will NOT be available to delegates, post-event.
Workshop Presenters
Mirjana Boskovic
Seismic Analysis Specialist
LKAB, Sweden
Mirjana is a mining engineer and has been employed at LKAB Kiruna for nearly 20 years. She has worked with seismic issues at Kiruna mine since before the mine was proclaimed as seismically active in 2008. She has planned and installed Kiruna’s mine-wide seismic network. As a member of the operative rock mechanics group and planning department, Mirjana works with mitigation of seismic risk, analyses seismic activity in the mine, and actively solves production problems related to seismicity. In 2019, Mirjana was appointed specialist – seismicity in rock mechanics.
Dr Nikolaos Petropoulos
Senior Researcher, LKAB
& Assistant Professor, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden
Nikolaos started his career in mining in 2008. He holds a PhD in mining and rock engineering from Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. His specialisation is within the field of experimental blasting and gravity flow, including methods and instrumentation development for near- and far-field measurements for caving operations. He has been working extensively with fragmentation measurements and analyses in both open pit and underground operations. He is also working with detonation physics and vibrations.
Dr Gurmeet Shekhar
Senior Mining Engineer
LKAB, Sweden
Gurmeet started his career as a graduate mining engineer at TATA Steel, India, in 2013. He has worked in planning and operations for both surface and underground mines. He holds a PhD in mining and rock engineering from Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. He specialises in draw control strategies and has developed an online loading control system currently used for draw control at the Kiirunavaara mine. His primary responsibilities include long term planning, mine digitalisation and optimisation projects.
Dr Mikael Svartsjaern
Senior Rock Mechanics Engineer
Itasca, Sweden
Mikael holds a PhD in mining and rock engineering from Luleå University of Technology with focus on footwall stability in sublevel cave mining. He works with project management, numerical modelling and design support for both the mining and civil industry. He also has university teaching experience on both basic and advanced levels in rock mechanics.
Erik Swedberg
Rock Mechanics Engineer
LKAB, Sweden
Erik has 10 years’ experience working with rock mechanics primarily in mining but also civil industries in Sweden. Currently, Erik is working at LKAB’s Kiirunavaara iron ore underground operation with a main focus on ground control and mining-induced seismicity.