Abstract
Underground mining is the primary method to obtain economically valuable minerals, but it usually brings a large number of goafs (mined-out voids) and large quantities of waste tailings. The gradual accumulation of mine tailings has attracted worldwide attention because of its occupation and acidification of land, and a large number of goafs often lead to stope instability and ground subsidence. To solve the waste tailing accumulation and ground subsidence, a cleaner mining method—cemented tailing backfilling (CTB)—for filling mining goafs by tailings was proposed. Firstly, the volume of the goafs was detected, and the hydraulic-mechanical coupling properties of the original tailings were tested. Then, a reasonable mix proportion of tailings, binder, and water was determined based on laboratory experiments. Finally, the filling pipe network and filling system were designed according to the actual situation of the mine. This paper provides an environmental and economic method for treating tailing accumulation and preventing ground subsidence. At the same time, it was demonstrated in Linglong Gold Mine (LLGM), and a plan which allows 15.8 service years of nondischarge of tailings was designed in LLGM.
Highlights
The management of mine tailings is a serious environmental issue in various countries [1]
The results showed that Homemade cement (HC) is the decisive factor of the cemented filling
The goafs can lead to stope instability and ground subsidence, causing damage to residential buildings and infrastructures
Summary
The management of mine tailings is a serious environmental issue in various countries [1]. The mineral resources extraction and the mining scale have constantly expanded to meet the growing demand for consumption [2, 3], which results in the increasing amount of solid tailing waste [4]. The accumulation of tailings in China is close to 20 billion tons which ranking first in the world, and the subsidence area caused by mining activity has reached 314,765 km, resulting in 535 deaths and economic losses of $1.9 billion [14]. The issue has aroused the high attention of the national government. In the 18th national congress of the communist party of China (18th CPC National Congress), the Chinese government highlights the construction of ecological civilization at the top of the list
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