Oulu Mining Summit 2023

The world is presently facing many challenges relevant to mining such as an increasing demand on various minerals, a higher requirement for energy, and a rising CO2 release. 

Mining supplies various raw materials with an increasing annual production. Accordingly, minerals resources are non-renewable and various minerals in the earth will be depleted sooner or later. At the same time, unfortunately, a vast amount of minerals is lost during mining operations. In addition, mining production requires energy in different forms, but the energy efficiencies in mining operations are very low. To reduce ore loss and to increase energy efficiency are two great and challenging tasks for future mining.

Mining depth becomes greater, resulting in higher in-situ stresses. Consequently, the higher in-situ stresses lead to many problems (such as rock bursts, rock fall or collapse, and seismic events) and difficulties in rock drilling, rock blasting, and rock support. Most of such problems or difficulties are involved rock dynamics.  

Rock mass is natural solid containing various geo-structures such as joints and faults, making both rock mass evaluation and mining in great depth difficult. Accordingly, new methods such as muography for deep mining and rock mass evaluation are necessary.

For a long term, it may be necessary to consider space mining. 

Based on the above aspects, this Summit invited many experts, including several world’s top leading scientists and R&D leaders in mining industry, in mining and rock mechanics. The topics of invited speeches cover most fields in mining, as follows:

• Minerals losses and energy utilization in mining industry 
• High mining technologies in current and future mining 
• Rock dynamics and its applications to mining industry
• Rock support
• Rock bursts, seismic events and rock support
• Rock fragmentation by blasting
• Rock mass evaluation and muography
• Case studies in mines
• Other topics

In the following we list the confirmed speakers and more speakers to be confirmed will be listed soon.

Speakers (confirmed, more to come)

Sunniva Haugen. Manager of Boliden Mining Technology and former Professor of Norwegian University of science and Technology. The speech is about high mining technology in Boliden mines.

Daniel Johansson. Professor of Luleå University of Technology. Title of speech: Recent developments within explosive engineering

Charlie C Li. Professor of Norwegian University of science and Technology and the inverter of D-Bolt. Title of speech: Energy sources of rock burst and the microscopic physics of burst-prone rocks

José A. Sanchidrián. Professor of Universidad Politechica de Madrid and President of International Fragblast Organizing Committee. The speech is about advances in rock blasting and fragmentation prediction.

Chun’an Tang. Professor of Dalian University of Technology and the founder of software RFPA (Rock Failure Process Analysis). The speech is about numerical modelling on rock failure.

Matthias Wimmer. Manager of Mining Technology, LKAB Kiruna. The speech is about high mining technology in LKAB mines.

Ping Zhang. Professor of Luleå University of Technology. Title of speech: How rock mechanics can contribute to deep and sustainable underground mining?

Jian Zhao. Professor of Monash University and Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences. The speech is about rock dynamic and its applications in rock excavation and mining.

This Summit will be held online, and it is free to join.

Register to the event here

Warmly welcome!

Additional information

Prof. Zongxian Zhang, Oulu Mining School

Zongxian.Zhang(at)oulu.fi

PhD Ninna Immonen, Oulu Mining School

Ninna.Immonen(at)oulu.fi