Destressing strategies for mining under highly stressed conditions in the deep mines of Sweden

Purpose and goal:

The aim of this project is to improve safety, production and energy efficiency by significantly decreasing rockfall accidents, production disturbances and rehabilitation work.

Objectives in detail are to: 1) improve the understanding of the effects of construction methods on excavation stability, 2) develop a methodology for assessing burst-proneness and deformation potential of excavations, 3) evaluate the effectiveness of destress blasting technique, 4) improve the destress blasting design, and 5) develop destressing strategies.

Expected results and effects:

The expected results from this project are: i) a guideline for assessing the effects of the construction methods on excavation stability, ii) developed methodology on evaluating the effectiveness of destress blasting technique, iii) improved blasting design, and iv) developed destressing strategies. In the end, the following KPIs defined in the STRIM Roadmap vision for 2030 and beyond will be addressed: no fatalities, energy-effective mining processes, and ground control measures that can ensure safe conditions with no unforeseen fallouts.

Approach and implementation: The work is divided into work packages (WPs) and planned as follows WP1: Project coordination WP2: Field investigation of construction methods WP3: Development of methodology WP4: Destress blasting design and its preliminary evaluation WP5: Field monitoring and numerical model calibration

WP6: Development of destressing strategies for mining under highly stressed conditions

In order to ensure progress the project will use workshops to integrate and disseminate the results. The workshops are planned to be held approximately with 3-6 months intervals.