Mining backfill formulations from various cementitious and waste materials

摘要

Backfill in mines has several important functions, such as, to prevent collapse of surface regions and to free up new areas for extraction of ores/minerals. Various materials can be used for this purpose, provided that the final mixture reaches a minimum compressive strength of 5-6 MPa and is economical. This paper describes various backfill mixtures composed of waste materials from other industrial processes, such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and phosphogypsum with small cement additions. The resultant cementitious matrices are compared in terms of their strength performance, flowability and final costs. Several formulations were found to show promise for practical applications.