Cemented Mine Waste Backfill: Experiment and Modelling: 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Cemented mine waste backfill (CMWR) technology, which is essentially an engineered mix of aggregates (e.g., tailings and waste rock), hydraulic binder, and water, has become a fundamental component of operations in underground mines worldwide. The potential benefits of using CMWR technology include reduced environmental footprint, increased resource recovery, improved underground work environment, and lowered costs of waste rock disposal and land rehabilitation.

Physico-chemical characteristics of material components, including aggregates, binder, and water, prominently affect the engineering performance of CMWR. The prepared CMWR mixture is usually delivered into underground mined-out voids by a pump and/or gravity through the pipelines. The flow behavior of the CMWR mixture in pipelines is entirely governed by its rheological properties. Meanwhile, the evolutive mechanical behaviors and properties after placement dominate the in-stope engineering performance of CMWR mass under complex field-loading conditions. A reliable ground support role played by CMWR structures is able to shorten mining cycles, improve the security of underground mining operations, and increase the economic benefits for the mining industry. Moreover, the oxidation of the backfill may release heavy-metal pollutants and produce secondary mineral precipitates that are more soluble than the original minerals. Hence, the potential for groundwater contamination by the mine backfill should be carefully evaluated as well.

To promote the development of CMWR technology with desired material properties and engineering performance, a thorough understanding of the behavior of CMWR is crucially needed. This Special Issue offers an opportunity for authors to share their latest experimental and modeling results associated with CMWR technology.

Dr. Haiqiang Jiang
Dr. Nan Zhou
Dr. Liang Cui
Dr. Xiwei Zhang
Guest Editors

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• cemented mine waste backfill
• sustainable reuse of mine wastes
• material characterization
• alternative binder materials
• mix proportion design
• in situ measurement
• environmental performance
• mathematical modeling and numerical simulation

• Cemented Mine Waste Backfill: Experiment and Modelling in Minerals (14 articles)