Abstract
Gold ores often consist of nuggets associated with quartz veins. In other ore types gold can be found as a by-product to pyrite. For both types, mine planning of scattered veins type deposits is often complicated regarding both mine design and production scheduling.
Despite the cold climate in the Arctic region, near surface deposits are initially mined with open pit mining. As the mine goes deeper, the stripping ratio and the transportation cost increases which economically limit the possibility to continue the project with open pit mining. The transition to underground mining, with gradually decreasing production from an open pit, near its final depth, and with gradually increasing production from newly developed underground production areas, require detailed planning and production scheduling to avoid production delays and maintaining a high cash flow.
This paper high-lights the main operational aspects of the Svartliden gold mine in Sweden and in particular how a scattered gold deposit during harsh cold weather conditions was dealt with. The on-going transition from surface to underground mining and the applied concept of minimizing own personnel in favour of national and local contractors for production purposes are also discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Chen, J., Gu, D., Li, J.: Optimization principle of combined surface and underground mining and its applications. Journal of Central South University of Technology 10(3), 222–225 (2003)
Senguptaet, M., Sinha, A.K., Iyer, R.B.: some problems of surface mining in the Arctic. International Journal of Surface Mining and Reclamation 4(1), 1–5 (1990), doi:10.1080/09208119008944159
Fuentes, S.S.: Going to an under ground (UG) mining method. In: Karzulovic, A., Alfaro, M.A. (eds.) Proceedings of MassMin Conference, Santiago, Chile, August 22-25, vol. 270, p. 633 (2004) ISBN 141.270
Tulp, T.: Open pit to underground mining. In: The Proceeding of Mine Planning and Equipment Selection Conference, pp. 9–12. Balkema, Rotterdam (1998)
Bakhtavar, E., Shahriar, K., Oraee, K.: Transition from open-pit to underground as a new optimization challenge in mining engineering. Journal of Mining Science 45(5) (2009)
Arancibia, E., Flores, G.: Design for underground mining at Chuquicamata Ore body – Scoping Engineering Stage. In: Karzulovic, A., Alfaro, M.A. (eds.) Proceedings of MassMin Conference, Santiago, Chile, August 22-25, p. 603 (2004) ISBN 141.270
Ericsson, M.: Trends in underground mining (2010), http://www.rawmaterialsgroup.com (retrieved on December 07, 2012)
Location of Svartliden gold mine, http://www.botniaexploration.com (retrieved on May 06, 2013)
Diemand, D.: Lubricant at Low Temperatures. CREEL Technical Digest TD 90-01, Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire (1990)
http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html (retrieved on May 12, 2013)
http://www.dragon-mining.com.au (retrieved on March 06, 2013)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Hassan, S.A., Schunnesson, H., Greberg, J., Gustafson, A. (2014). Transition from Surface to Underground Mining in the Arctic Region: A Case Study from Svartliden Gold Mine, Sweden. In: Drebenstedt, C., Singhal, R. (eds) Mine Planning and Equipment Selection. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02678-7_134
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02678-7_134
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02677-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02678-7
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)