Fäboliden gold project – underground mine planning & feasibility inputs
When you evaluate an underground gold project in Sweden, you need more than a geological model. You need a realistic underground mine plan, a life-of-mine production schedule, a unit cost model and a work breakdown structure that all align with Swedish mining regulations and your project deadlines. The Fäboliden Gold Project is located in Västerbotten County, Sweden. In 2013, underground mine planning work was carried out for Lappland Goldminers as part of a feasibility-level assessment. The aim was to understand how an underground operation could be planned, costed and structured to support further economic and permitting decisions.
Client & context
If you are responsible for a project like Fäboliden, you typically work with:
- A defined underground gold resource in Västerbotten County.
- Previous technical studies that need to be refined into a more detailed underground scenario.
- Stakeholders who expect mine plans, cost models and schedules to respect Swedish mining laws and safety regulations.
At this stage, you want an underground mine plan and economic framework that clearly show how the operation could work from first development to the end of mine life.
Challenge
Underground gold projects often combine technical complexity with tight project timelines. For Fäboliden, the key questions were:
- How should an underground mine layout be designed to fit the geometry and depth of the ore zones?
- What life-of-mine production schedule makes sense for the resource, infrastructure and expected processing capacity?
- How do you build a unit cost model that is detailed enough for feasibility-level work but still flexible for scenario testing?
- What needs to be in place to comply with the Swedish Mining Act and associated regulations?
- How do you structure the work and deliverables in a way that fits within project deadlines and the client’s internal processes?
In practice, you need underground mine engineering that connects design, scheduling, costs and regulatory requirements into one clear picture.
Approach
The Fäboliden work was structured to give the client an integrated view of the underground mine concept and its economic and regulatory framework.
Underground mine planning
You get an underground mine layout designed to match the geometry of the orebody and the planned method of extraction. This includes:
- Access and development concepts (ramps, levels, crosscuts and raises).
- Stoping layouts appropriate for the deposit and ground conditions.
- Consideration of ventilation, materials handling and backfill at a planning level.
The design work is carried out using specialised mining software so that scenarios can be tested, visualised and updated as new information becomes available.
Life-of-mine production schedule & unit cost model
Based on the underground plan, you receive a life-of-mine production schedule that shows how the ore and waste are planned to be extracted over time:
- Year-by-year or period-based production tonnes and grades.
- Sequencing of development and stoping to support ramp-up and steady-state production.
- Integration with processing assumptions and infrastructure capacity.
A unit cost model is then developed to estimate capital and operating costs at the level needed for feasibility work. This covers mining development, production activities, services and overheads in a way that can be linked directly to the schedule.
Regulatory compliance & work breakdown structure
For an underground project in Sweden, your study work also needs to reflect the Swedish Mining Act and relevant regulations. The Fäboliden assignment therefore included:
- Review of requirements linked to Swedish mining regulations that affect mine design and planning.
- A work breakdown structure (WBS) that organises tasks, deliverables and responsibilities for the mine engineering scope.
- Project management support to ensure the work stayed within the agreed timeframe and met the client’s expectations.
The result is a structured technical package that is easier to communicate to management, regulators and other stakeholders.
Results & value
From this type of work on the Fäboliden Gold Project, you gain:
- An underground mine plan that translates the gold resource into a concrete development and production concept.
- A life-of-mine production schedule and unit cost model that give you a clearer view of potential project economics.
- Study work that reflects Swedish mining regulations and can be used as input to further permitting and safety planning.
- A structured work breakdown that makes it easier to manage future study phases and engineering activities.
For the client, the project was managed within the agreed deadline and delivered to their satisfaction, providing a stronger basis for future decisions on the Fäboliden underground gold project.
Services used on this project
- Mine engineering consulting for underground gold
- Capital and operating cost estimation (unit cost model)
- Mining software for design and scheduling
- Underground mine planning and layouts
- Life-of-mine production scheduling
- Review of Swedish Mining Act implications for mine planning
- Work breakdown structure (WBS) and project coordination
If you are evaluating an underground gold project in Sweden and need life-of-mine scheduling, unit cost modelling and study work that respects Swedish mining regulations, you can turn to Gosselin Mining. You get underground mine engineering support that gives you a clearer basis for your next decision.
