Nordic Mining Awards

Four well-known personallities have been recognised for their outstandiing achievements in the harsh conditions for the mining industry above latitude 60º North.

Nordic Exploration Award - Ole Christiansen

Northern Lights Award - Charlie C Li

Northern Lights Award - Leif Gustafsson and Sture Åberg

The awards were announced in Stockholm this week during the Mining On Top: Stockholm Conference, which was celebrating its 10^th anniversary.

This year's Nordic Exploration prize was awarded to Ole Christian Anthon Christiansen for his work in the region over the past two decades. Durinng this time, Mr Christiansen has been at the forefront of the Greenland exploration and mining industry, working energetically and enthusiastically to develop the counntry's natural mineral resources. Mr Christiansen, who is the chief executive officer of NunaMinerals, has been instrumental in the discoveery of gold in south Greenland. The company's exploration projects include the Nalunaq gold deposit, which became the first new mine in Greenland in the early 2000s, and the Storø and Vagar gold projects. The company is also active in platinum exp ploration at the Fiskefjord projects, and the rare earth elements project at Qeqertaasaq in west Greenland.

The Northern Lights Awards were launched last year to acknowledge the effort and innovation required for working in the hostile operating environment above 60ºN or by companies and individuals located in that region. This year two awards are given. The first, to Professor Charlie C Li of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway. Professor Li receives the award for his important and innovative work with the deformable rock bolt. The D-bolt is a rock bolt designed for rock reinforcement in deep underground mines where the rock eitheer deforms extensively, or suddenly fails through rock bursts. These situations demand that the rock-reinforcement system be able to deform/yield under loading to such an extent that the rock mass itself, together with the rock reinforcement com mponents, will take up stress and facilitate safe openings for mining.

Professor Li's invention is a steel bolt with a number of anchors along its length. The smooth sections between the anchors can freely deform when subjected to rock deformation due to the low bonding between the grout and the steel bar between the anchors. This ability, together with enhanced mechanical properties of high strength and large deformation capacity, are the main innovations of the D-bolt. The D-bolt is manufactured by Normet Oy in Finland.

The second Northern Light Award is given jointly to Leif Gustafsson and Sture Åberg for their work at Malmfälten i Norr AB (as head of research and development, and as chief executive officer, respectively). This award is for development of the Cavimeter, which is expected greatly to improve control of the quality of grouted rock bolts. A large part of rock reinforcement in hard rock is made by grouted steel bolts mounted in drilled holes filled with concrete paste. The reinforcing capability of grouted rock bolts is strongly dependant on the degree of interaction between steel bar, grout and surrounding rock. A rock bolt must be adequately grouted to be able to perform its function. The Cavimeter is a new, and unique, method to verify the quality of grouted rock bolt installations. The main advantage of the system is the quick measurement procedure, the average capacity being raised to approximately ten measurements per hour. A hose with small holes is attached along the bolt, before installation and grouting. Measurement of the quality of the grouting of the rock bolt is made by pressurising the measuring hose with an inert gas. By registering the pressure drop and the time, cavities in the concrete are measured and the quality of the rock bolt reinforcement is estimated.

Jim Coppard, the regional head of Arctic Exploration for Anglo American plc was the recipient of last year's Nordic Exploration Award, and Sandvik Mining and Atlas Copco were awarded last year's, inaugural, Northern Lights awards.

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IntierraRMG

The Nordic Exploration Award is given by an award committee with one representative from each Nordic mining country: Olof Forslund Sweden, Markku Mäkelä Finland, Jan Sverre Sandstad Norway and Henrik Stendal Greenland.

The Northern Lights Awards are presentedby a committee consisting of Magnus Ericsson, Tapani Järvinen and Per-Arne Lindqvist.

Based on IntierraRMG information