ABSTRACT
The Zinkgruvan Mine is situated in the south-central part of Sweden. It is the largest zinc mine in Sweden and it is owned and run by Vieille Montagne Sweden. During the last few years, instability problems, primarily local stress-controlled failures, have been noted at an increasing rate. The rock mechanics development programme implemented at the Zinkgruvan mine includes rock mass characterization, investigation of stress conditions, numerical stress analysis and field observations of stability conditions. A number of rock stress measurements, using overcoring, have been performed in the mine. The damage classification scheme enables us to describe observed failure phenomena in qualitative as well as quantitative terms. Mining at the 500 metre level was done using ordinary cut and fill mining. Reinforcement included grouted rebars, Swellex-bolts and expansion shell anchored bolts, together with mesh and cable bolts.
