Following on from IM‘s report in June 2009 about Sweden’s ‘mine of the future’ (MIFU) initiative (p44), copper and silver producer KGHM has now joined the consortium. As the eighth largest producer of copper and the third largest producer of silver in the world, it will bring extensive knowledge and experience to the program. Led by mining technology partner, Nordic Rock Tech Centre, the MIFU project will be used to identify strategic issues that need to be addressed and solved in present operations to increase production efficiency in line with manufacturers in other sectors, whilst also conveying an image of the sector as innovative, interesting and sustainable.

It is envisioned that the study will be used to prepare the framework for a Strategic Research, Development and Innovation Agenda 2011 – 2020. The study is partly financed by the Swedish Strategic Mining Research Programme through the national agency Vinnova (http://www.vinnova.se/) in an agreement with the Swedish mining research foundation, MITU (http://www.bergforsk.se/).

Henryk Karas, the KGHM representative for the project: “We have found that we share similar challenges for future mining in Sweden and Poland and by joining the MIFU conceptual study, I am sure we will create good solutions together.”

For more information on the MIFU program please visit www.rocktechcentre.se