Iron ore, after being unearthed from the ground, crushed, screened, impurities removed, will soon fuel China’s burgeoning heavy industries. But at Dabeishan Iron Ore Mine in Benxi, a city in China’s northeastern rust belt known for mining and steel production, operational defects have long hindered sustainable growth.

Qin Fengxin, the mine manager, said their old way of mining was very inefficient. “The recovery rate was only 40 to 50 percent, which is a huge waste of resources. And it would affect our surrounding facilities,” Qin explained.

It was having such trouble that the mine sought help from academic institutes.

Now, as they welcome experts from Northeastern University to set up the first work station on the mine, changes are underway. The mine's collapsed areas – huge pits left by years of mining – used to be dangerous to people and hazardous to the environment. But thanks to expert advice on filling the collapsed cave in the ground with dried mine tailings, safety is upheld while also getting rid of stacked excess tailings and adding greenery to the mine.

Production efficiency has been greatly improved, said Professor Ren Fengyu in charge of the expert work station. “We introduced new mining methods like zoned sub-level caving and induced caving on this relatively small mine. Under scientific planning, we can make most of the mineable ore, thus minimizing the collapse-prone area."

To ensure proper application of these world-leading research achievements, Ren's team carries on with round-the-clock monitoring and studies at the station.

Their own research projects have also benefited from it. Ren said working at Dabeishan Mine has greatly improved their calculation accuracy of collapses. “We keep perfecting our model in practice. And the mine gives us funding on big projects like overground facilities protection, which is mutually beneficial for us both,” he emphasized.