Critical success factors for exploration, mining and processing at LKAB, Sweden - Theory of Sampling (TOS), Process Analytical Technology (PAT), Chemometrics & Best Practice vs. Best Value evaluation

This Ph.D. project will perform a thorough evaluation and characterization of the quality performance of LKAB’s sampling systems throughout the entire value chain from mines to delivered product. With the focused cooperation between Professor Kim H. Esbensen and the PhD Student Karin Engström, the possibilities for both company benefit and state-of-the-art research are abundant. This PhD project has a significant opportunity to produce new scientific results for both industrial and technological applications.

The project core includes several variographic – and other experiments regarding blast hole and process sampling at LKAB’s operations in northern Sweden. Variographic analysis will be using both existing process data as well as data from directed intervention experiments where further investigation is needed. Data analysis will focus on finding the root causes of variability at all levels in LKAB’s iron ore operations. Properly deployed variographic experiments will identify adverse total variability and decouple it into sampling, analysis and process variability respectively. These results will be used to develop new – and/or fine-tune best practices for sampling in iron ore operations.

The aim of the PhD project is to produce state-of-the-art research conclusions concerning critical key sampling procedures in iron ore operations, to develop new approaches where necessary, as well as implementing hands-on improvements to existing sampling operations identified during the study. The results will be presented both in peer reviewed journals, at international conferences, as well as at LKAB internally.