What is paste backfill?
Paste backfill is defined as an engineered mixture of fine solid particles (with binder) and water, containing between 72% and 85% solids by weight. Particles in a paste mixture will not settle out of the mixture if allowed to remain stationary in a tank or in a pipeline.
What is paste in mining?
Paste filling or Back filling is a method used to dispose of mine tailings underground, to backfill underground mine stopes, or to achieve both simultaneously.
What is cement backfill?
Cemented fill: Cemented fill consists of tailings and waste rock deposited in underground voids. It is used when storage of waste rock is required and the excess void spaces need filling. Tailings mixed with cement can be poured over the waste rock to fill and bind the voids.
What does backfill mean in mining?
Mine backfill is defined as the material used to fill the cavities (i.e., stopes) created by underground mining. Backfilling can be a means to dispose of sludge and/ or tailings which may contain hazardous materials and to reduce surface environmental impacts by storing tailings underground.
How does a paste plant work?
Backfill Paste Plants are generally used to help construct ground supports in underground mine operations. The mine tailing is a waste product which is mixed with additives such as cement, lime, or fly ash to develop cohesion within the paste so that existing mines can support future work and construction safely.
What is back filling and its advantages?
Typically cemented paste backfill (CPB) is an environmentally friendly material consisting of tailings, cement and water, which can be widely used in underground mining operations for preventing caving, roof falls and enhancing the recovery of pillars [9] [10] [11].
What are paste plants?
What is a stope in underground mining?
A stope is a dugout tunnel or space that contains the ore that is being mined. Clear stopes are essential for a mining industry operation to run smoothly. The stope provides direct access to the orebody and routes ore and waste in an underground mine.
Can you use tailings for fill?
Besides conventional dams, there are other tailings disposal methods, including: Backfilling: tailings are usually combined with a binder like cement, then used to fill voids in underground operations. This is widely considered the safest form of tailings disposal.
What is cemented rock fill?
At the Cosmos nickel mine Cemented Rock Fill (CRF) is used to fill the mining voids. The CRF is a mix of a crushed and screened waste rock from mine development, General Purpose cement and fresh water.
What is the most common filling material for underground metal mines?
Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is widely used in backfilling underground mine voids. It consists of fine grained mine tailings with a small dosage of binder (~ 3–10%).
Why inside dumps backfill are preferred in mining?
Major benefits of using lined facilities for mine pit backfill include: an overall reduction in the required liner area for storage of materials. minimal risk of spills (particularly in high seismic earthquake zones) with the elimination of above ground containment dams.