Customer case

Jokisivu Gold Mine trusts SSAB ERB

May 09, 2023 6 min read

Case details

Product SSAB Virsbolt expandable rock bolt for instant rock reinforcing

Country Finland

Company Dragon Mining

Industry Raw material handling

Case details

Product SSAB Virsbolt expandable rock bolt for instant rock reinforcing

Country Finland

Company Dragon Mining

Industry Raw material handling

Rock reinforcing at 645 meters

SSAB has visited the Jokisivu Gold Mine, which is located 80 kilometers southwest of Tampere in the southern part of Finland. The mine operator Dragon Mining has been active in the area since 2009 and is now mining at a depth of 645 meters.

To secure the rock roof in the mining tunnels, this mine uses SSAB ERB expandable rock bolt. Rock conditions vary from very good to moderate and more difficult. Difficulty level increases with depth and also with local stress zones where stress is not solely dependent on depth.

A reliable and versatile solution

The forces in the rock are compressing the tunnels, calling for a secure rock reinforcing technique. SSAB ERB is a reliable and versatile solution, with high loadbearing capacity and simple installation. The bolts also hold in place a steel mesh to safeguard the operators from falling rocks.

“We prefer inflatable bolts instead of split set bolts due to availability issue of split-set in Nordic region. It’s also easier to run one bolting system rather than two. We can get the bolts directly from SSAB in Sweden, which secures our supply of bolts.” - Timo Ridaskoski, Mine Manager at Jokisivu Gold Mine.

Dragon Mining

Jokisivu Gold Mine is operated by Dragon Mining, an established gold producer that holds a portfolio of projects in Sweden and Finland. Since first arriving in the Nordic region in 2000, the company has successfully brought into production a series of open-pit and underground gold mines. So far, the total gold production from all sites combined is 520 000 ounces (14.7 tonne).

Hundreds of thousands of SSAB expandable rock bolts – no problem

Cimertex provides Portuguese metal mines with SSAB ERB expandable rock bolts in the hundreds of thousands without any issues. Customers have tried other suppliers but have returned to SSAB ERB when they encountered quality problems leading to increased maintenance of the rock bolting rigs.