Evolution of ground support practices at Kittilä mine

Authors: Pyy, A

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2625_23

Cite As:
Pyy, A 2026, 'Evolution of ground support practices at Kittilä mine', in D Cumming-Potvin & J Wesseloo (eds), Ground Support 2026: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Ground Support in Mining, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1-10, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2625_23

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Abstract:
Kittilä mine is an underground gold mine owned and operated by Agnico Eagle Finland located in northern Finland. The mining operation started in 2008 from open pits and transitioned to underground production in 2012. The mine consists of 4 separate orebodies, currently producing 2.0 Mt per annum, and requiring over 14 km of development annually. The primary mining method is longhole stoping using a primary–secondary sequence with delayed backfill. As mining has progressed to greater depths, ground conditions and stress environments have evolved, necessitating changes in ground support strategies. Current ground conditions range from squeezing behaviour during development parallel to foliation to brittle response and rockbursting conditions within massive mafic lithologies. The early implementation of microseismic monitoring has played a key role in identifying areas of increased seismic hazard, supporting proactive upgrades of ground support systems, and enabling targeted application of enhanced support. Integration of microseismic data with observational monitoring of ground support performance has allowed ongoing calibration and optimisation of ground support design.

Keywords: ground support, rock mass response, microseismic monitoring

References:
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Pyy, A, Meyer, S & Falmagne, V 2024, ‘Experiences of seismic monitoring at the Kittilä mine’, in P Andrieux & D Cumming-Potvin (eds), Deep Mining 2024: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Deep and High Stress Mining, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 341–354.
Pyy, A, Meyer, S & Falmagne, V 2025, ‘Insights into monitoring seismic behaviour of structures at Kittilä mine’, Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Rockbursts and Seismicity in Mines, Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, Englewood.




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