Backfill Mining Research Articles

Study on macro-meso mechanical properties of cemented tailings backfill with high fly ash content.

The use of cement and fly ash (FA) to prepare cemented tailings backfill (CTB) lowers backfill mining costs while also reducing pollution caused by the accumulation of waste materials like tailings and FA, making it a green backfill mining process. While adding FA to CTB may reduce costs, too much FA might weaken CTB's strength property. Mechanical tests were used to explore the effects of FA content and curing time on the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and deformation modulus of CTB in this research. The effects of FA content on failure modes, strain energy, and crack evolution of CTB were studied using a numerical model that considered FA content and particle contact mode. The influence mechanism of different FA contents on CTB was also revealed at the microscopic level. The results demonstrate that the UCS of CTB has a quadratic polynomial and a linear relationship with FA content and curing time respectively, and that the elasticity modulus and secant modulus of CTB increase and then decrease with FA content under different curing times. The peak strain energy of CTB increases and subsequently declines with the FA content, and crack propagation inside CTB may be limited by regulating the FA content. A reasonable content of FA can optimize the size and distribution of CTB microscopic defects, enabling them to exhibit superior strength property. This study systematically explores the mechanism of different FA contents on the strength property of CTB from a macro-micro perspective, providing an essential reference value for improving the recycling of FA and waste residues such as tailings.

Environmental risk assessment of industrial byproduct gypsum utilized for filling abandoned mines

In response to the basic policy of green and low-carbon circular development to solve resource, environmental and ecological problems, gypsum is considered to be a filling material for mine backfilling. To explore the potential risks of gypsum to the groundwater environment due to the backfilling of abandoned mines, a sequential batch leaching experiment was carried out in this paper, which used three types of industrial waste gypsum, namely, phosphorus gypsum (PG), titanium gypsum (TG) and flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGDG). COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4 software was used to simulate and solve the migration process of the leached metal elements in the mine floor when these three gypsum types were used as filling materials to observe the concentration distributions and diffusion distances of the metal elements from these three gypsum types in the mine floor. The results show that (1) during repeated contact of the three types of industrial waste gypsum with the leaching medium, the pH levels changed, and the changes in pH affected the leaching patterns for the heavy metal elements in the gypsum. (2) Based on the concentrations of the metal elements that were leached from the three types of gypsum, it can be determined that these three types of gypsum are not classified as hazardous solid wastes, but they cannot be ruled out with regard to their risk to the groundwater environment when they are used as mine filling materials. (3) When the three types of gypsum are used as filling materials, the concentration distributions of the metal elements and their migration distances all exhibit significant changes over time. The concentration distributions, diffusion rates and migration distances of the metal elements from the different gypsum types are affected by their initial concentrations in the leachate. The maximum migration distances of Zn in the floor from the PG, FGDG and TG are 8.2, 8.1 and 7.5 m, respectively.

Experimental investigation on the deformation and strength properties of cemented gangue backfill column under long-term axial compression

To reveal the time-dependent deformation and the effect of loading history from early curing age on mechanical properties of cemented gangue backfill column (CGBC) under long-term axial compression in constructional backfill mining, the step-by-step load was adopted to simulate the loading history of the roof before 28d and then enter the long-term creeping stage, and the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus of samples after 360d loading were tested. Four initial loading ages (ILA) and four stress-strength ratios (SSR) were set to simulate the actual loading conditions. The time-dependent damage process of CGBC was monitored by ultrasonic and electrical resistivity equipment. The results show that: the strain of CGBC increases with the increase of loading time and SSR; the earlier the ILA is, the higher the total strain shows, but the smaller the creep strain after 28d will be. The loading history at early curing age increases the compactness of CGBC and promotes the cement hydration process, and decreases the deformation after 28d. The final strength and elastic modulus of the long-term loading samples are larger than those of the control ones, and increase first and then decrease with SSR 60% and ILA 7d as the turning point, and the most increase reaches 33% and 82%, respectively. The CGBC can keep long-term stability at 80% SSR. The competition of compaction, healing and damage of CGBC under different SSRs at early curing age determines the final mechanical properties. Ultrasonic pulse velocity and resistivity of CGBC increase with the increase of time and are also affected by the SSR. A rheology-based model that considered the time-hardening of CGBC at early curing age was proposed to predict the time-dependent deformation of CGBC starting from early age. The results could be used to guide the design of CGBC and deformation prediction of the roof.

Prediction of the Adaptability of Using Continuous Extraction and Continuous Backfill Mining Method to Sequestrate CO2-A Case Study

The consumption of coal resources has caused an increase in CO2 emissions. A scientific concept that can realize CO2 sequestration, the harmless treatment of solid wastes, and coal extraction under buildings, railways, and water bodies (BRW) is proposed. First, a novel CO2 mineralized filling body (CMFB) is developed by employing CO2 gas, fly ash, silicate additives, and cement. It is then injected into the mined-out mining roadways (MRs) of the continuous extracting and continuous backfill (CECB) mining method to ameliorate the overburden migration and thus extract the coal body under the BRW. The AHP-fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was employed to construct a prediction model for the suitability of this concept. Subsequently, the evaluation model is generalized and applied to the Yu-Shen mining area. Each indicator affecting adaptability is plotted on a thematic map, and the corresponding membership degree is determined. The aptness for 400 boreholes distributed in the entire area was determined and a zoning map which divides the whole area into good, moderate, slightly poor, and extremely poor suitability was drawn. This paper puts forward a mathematical model for predicting the suitability of using CECB and CMFB to sequestrate CO2. Research results can provide references for determining the site of CO2 sequestration under the premise of maximizing the economic and ecological benefits, which is conducive to constructing ecological, green, and sustainable coal mines.

Mechanical Characteristics and Self-Healing Soil-Cementitious Hydrogel Materials in Mine Backfill Using Hybridized ANFIS-SVM.

The compressive strength, shrinkage, elasticity, and electrical resistivity of the cement-soil pastes (slag, fly ash) of self-healing of cementitious concrete have been studied while adding hydrogels with nano silica (NSi) in this research. Defining the hydraulic and mechanical properties of these materials requires improvement to motivate more uptake for new buildings. Initially, examining the impact of different synthesized hydrogels on cement-soil pastes showed that solid particles in the mixtures highly affected the absorption capacity of NSi, representing the importance of direct interactions between solid particles and hydrogels in a cementitious matrix. All test results were analyzed by use of a hybridized soft computing model such as the adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and support vector regression (SVR) for precise studying and the avoidance of few empirical tests or error percentages. Subsequently, the best RMSE of ANFIS is 0.6568 and the best RMSE of SVM is 1.2564; the RMSE of ANFIS-SVM (0.5643) in the test phase is also close to zero, showing a better performance in hypothesizing self-healing soil-cementitious hydrogel materials in mine backfill. The R2 value for ANFIS-SVM is 0.9547, proving that it is a proper model for predicting the study’s goal. Electrical resistivity and compressive strength declined in the cement-soil pastes including hydrogels according to experimental outcomes; it was lowered by the increase of NSi concentration in the hydrogel. There was a decrement in the autogenous shrinkage of cement-soil pastes while adding hydrogel, depending on the NSi concentration in the hydrogels. The findings of this research are pivotal for the internal curing of cementitious materials to define the absorption of hydrogels.

The Characteristics of Spiral Pipe Increasing Resistance and Reducing Pressure and the Amendment Equation of Stowing Gradient

To solve the high slurry pressure and severe wear at some sections in backfilling pipelines, this study investigates the solution of using an auxiliary pipe to increase the resistance and reduce the pressure of the mine backfilling pipeline. Using computational fluid dynamics, three auxiliary pipe models, a Z-shaped pipe, a S-shaped pipe and a spiral pipe were constructed and the velocity and pressure distribution characteristics of the filling slurry in the auxiliary pipes were analyzed. The function of friction loss in spiral pipes with different pitches and spiral diameters was established, and the amendment equation for calculating the effective stowing gradient was studied when using spiral pipes to increase resistance and reduce pressure. The results show that, compared with the Z-shaped pipe and the S-shaped pipe, the velocity and pressure in the spiral pipe change continuously and steadily, and there is no obvious sudden change in the local velocity and pressure. Therefore, it is difficult to burst the pipe. When the velocity is 2.5 m/s and the vertical height of the pipe is 2.5 m, the friction loss of the filling slurry in the spiral pipe can reach 3.87~21.26 times that in the vertical pipe, indicating that the spiral pipe can effectively play the role of increasing resistance and reducing pressure. The relationship between the friction loss and spiral diameter is a linear function, and the relationship between the friction loss and pitch is a quadratic function. The three are binary quadratic function relationships. The equation for calculating the effective stowing gradient is obtained, which provides a convenient method for engineering applications and industrial design.

Cement Kiln Dust (CKD): Potential Beneficial Applications and Eco-Sustainable Solutions

Over many decades, cement has been the primary component in construction projects and is considered one of the essential industries worldwide. At the same time, it overconsumes natural resources and can negatively impact the environment through a few byproducts, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and cement kiln dust (CKD). The generated quantity of CKD is estimated to be 15–20% of the produced cement, which means CKD can be induced in hundreds of millions of metric tons synchronously with annual global cement production. Unfortunately, not all materials of CKD are suitable for recycling in cement manufacturing since it contains high levels of alkalis, sulfate, and chloride, leading to excessive concentrations in the final product. Therefore, CKD industrial utilization has become highly recommended in recent research as a potential beneficial application from economic, environmental, and sustainability perspectives. This review paper highlights and discusses the recently conducted research articles that investigate the industrial applications of CKD. The obtained outcomes showed that CKD has physical and chemical properties that make it practical in many fields, such as soil stabilization, concrete mix, chemical treatment, ceramic and brick manufacturing, and mine backfill. They also indicate a lack of studies investigating CKD in mine backfill applications as a partial replacement material for cement due to the high cost of binders, optimization, and sustainability purposes.

Review on the Art of Roof Contacting in Cemented Waste Backfill Technology in a Metal Mine

The backfilling mining method can effectively solve the environmental and safety problems caused by mining. It is the key technology to realize green mining. Scientific development has accelerated the pace of research on the rational utilization of mine solid waste and improved the research level of backfilling technology. The development history of the backfilling mining method is introduced in the present paper, and it is determined that roof-contacting backfilling is the key technology of mine-solid-waste backfilling mining. This paper introduces three calculation methods of similar roof-contacted backfilling rates. In this paper, the relationship between the characteristics of backfilling slurry made from solid waste from mines and the roof-contacted backfilling rate is systematically analyzed, such as the flow law in stope (gravity gradient), bleeding shrinkage, and natural sedimentation of backfilling slurry. It is pointed out that the characteristics of the stope, such as washing-pipe water, water for the leading way, filling pipeline, and shape of the backfilling stope, are closely related to the roof-contacted backfilling rate. The influential relationship between objective factors, such as human factors, limited auxiliary leveling measures, and backfilling “one-time operation” in the backfilling process, and high-efficiency top filling are considered, and a schematic diagram of the influencing top-filling rate and structure is drawn. At the same time, this paper summarizes the improvement measures of roof connection from three aspects. These include the use of expansive non-shrinkable materials, forced roof-contacted technology, and strengthening management level. It is pointed out that the roof-contacted filling technology is still facing severe challenges, and the research on the backfilling connection technology needs to be strengthened.

Application of Artificial Intelligence Models to Predict the Tensile Strength of Glass Fiber-Modified Cemented Backfill Materials during the Mine Backfill Process

Cemented backfill coal mining technology is gradually becoming a key technology for green mining of coal resources. And cemented backfill materials generally have congenital defects such as poor crack resistance, poor durability, and high brittleness, which restrict the promotion and application of cemented backfill coal mining technology. Due to the complex stress environment of in situ stress, mining stress, water pressure, and gas pressure, cemented backfill materials need to have good mechanical properties, and glass fiber is usually used to mix into cemented backfill materials to improve its performance, but there are many problems including complex testing process, high cost, and long time-consuming in the study of mechanical properties of glass fiber-modified cemented backfill materials (GFCBM) by laboratory tests. Consequently, this study proposed and compared four artificial intelligence models to forecast the tensile strength of GFCBM. Firstly, the laboratory tests of tensile properties of GFCBM under different influence factors were implemented to supply the prediction model with dataset. The input variables are aeolian sand content, cement content, glass fiber length, and glass fiber content, and the output variable is the tensile strength of GFCBM. The correlation coefficient ( R ), mean absolute error (MAE), and root mean square error (RMSE) are selected to assess the estimated performance of the hybrid intelligent model. The results indicate that the four hybrid artificial intelligence models show a latent capacity for forecasting the tensile strength of GFCBM, and according to the order from high to low, the prediction ability of the four prediction models is as follows: ABC-SVM, GA-SVM, SSA-SVM, and DE-SVM, and the corresponding R values are 0.9555, 0.9539, 0.9413, and 0.9359, respectively. The research findings are beneficial to promote the application of cemented backfill coal mining technology.

Study on the Combined Mining Scheme for Coal Resources under High-Voltage Pylons and the Reinforcement for Pylons

The increasing use of high-voltage transmission wires requires more and more high-voltage pylons, and sometimes, constructing pylons in mining areas is very urgent. To ensure the safe operation of pylons, coal pillars with large side lengths are usually used to provide sufficient support; however, this results in a huge waste of coal. Eight high-voltage pylons are arranged on the ground surface corresponding to the location of working face 1110 of Sima Coal Mine in Shanxi Province, China, which cannot be mined by traditional methods. Taking this as the engineering background, the failure mode of high-voltage pylon is first analyzed. Using FLAC3D numerical simulations, the influence of five different mining plans on ground surface deformation in working face 1110 is evaluated, and the vertical settlement and horizontal deformation in different areas of the ground surface, as well as the variation law of horizontal strain and slope are analyzed. According to the numerical simulation results, the range of thickness-limiting mining or backfill mining in working face 1110 is shown in scheme 3, and the key regions in the mining process are determined. Secondly, the strengthening scheme of high-voltage pylons is designed, that is, the four foundations of high-voltage pylons are connected as a whole with steel supports and steel connectors so as to improve the structural strength of the high-voltage pylon. Finally, the position change in the foundation of high-voltage pylons was monitored for 22 consecutive months. The results show that the maximum settlement of the high-voltage tower foundation is 3.1 m, which is consistent with the actual mining thickness; The high-voltage pylon was stably moved, and the change in transmission line tension and total length was usually less than 1.0%. The combined mining scheme and foundation strengthening scheme can ensure the safe operation of high-voltage pylons and provide a new method for the stability control of ground buildings in coal mining subsidence area.

Prediction of the Height of Water-Conductive Fractured Zone under Continuous Extraction and Partial Backfill Mining Method—A Case Study

Longwall backfill mining effectively mitigates the height of water-conductive fractured zone (HWCFZ), preventing it from reaching the overlying aquifer and thus preserving the groundwater. However, it has the disadvantages of insufficient filling time and space as well as the mutual constraints between filling and mining. A novel continuous extraction and partial backfill (CEPB) water-preserving mining method was therefore proposed. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was employed to identify the factors affecting the HWCFZ of CEPB, and five main factors, namely, the hard-rock lithology ratio, mining height and depth, and the width of the Wongawilli and protective block, were determined based on the weight distribution. UDEC software was used to establish a numerical model to simulate the HWCFZ under five factors. By using a multiple linear regression analysis of the numerical simulation results, a model for predicting the HWCFZ was established. It was applied in a colliery of the Yu-Shen mining area, and the HWCFZ was 57.7 m, 9% higher than that of borehole television logging of 53.1 m from the field measurement, indicating its rationality. Subsequently, the model was generalized and applied to the whole mining area, and the thematic map of the HWCFZ and the protective zone thickness of CEPB and longwall caving mining were obtained. The criterion for water-preserving mining based on the equivalent permeability coefficient of the protective zone is then proposed, which can provide guidance for the mining parameters optimization of the CEPB.

Preparation and characterization of a new alkali-activated binder for superfine-tailings mine backfill.

Recently, the increasing of ultrafine-tailings increases the amount of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in cemented paste backfill (CPB), which leads to the rise of CPB cost and carbon emission. As a result, it is necessary to develop alternative binders. The present work focuses on the preparation of a new binder, which is activated by a mixture of calcined quarry dust (CQD) and NaOH at a mass ratio of 1:1. The results indicated that CQD/NaOH was more effective than using NaOH or CQD alone in activating blast furnace slag (BFS) and also showed better performance than OPC. The compressive strength of the CPB samples using 10% CQD/NaOH was around 3.78MPa after curing for 90days, around 42% higher than the OPC-based CPB samples. The reaction products of CQD/NaOH-activated BFS consisted mainly of C-(A)-S-H, hydrotalcite like phases (Ht), and M-S-H. The generation of Ht phases lowered the Al incorporation into the structure of C-S-H, resulting in lower average Al/Si ratio and mean chain length.

Optimization Production Scheduling of Underground Backfilling Mining Based on NSGA-II

Optimization Production Scheduling of Underground Backfilling Mining Based on NSGA-II

Continuous Extraction and Continuous Backfill Mining Method Using Carbon Dioxide Mineralized Filling Body to Preserve Shallow Water in Northwest China

The exploitation and utilization of coal resources are not only prone to causing water table lowering, but also produce a large amount of CO2 and coal-based solid waste. A scientific concept that employs the CO2 and solid wastes to develop filling bodies and inject them into the mined-out area, to sequestrate CO2 and mitigate the overburden migration and thus preserve the overlying aquifer, is proposed. Continuous extraction and continuous backfill (CECB) mining was selected as the mining method to meet the aforementioned objectives. Additionally, carbon dioxide mineralized filling body (CMFB) under ambient temperature and pressure was developed, with fly ash as aggregate, and CO2 gas, silicate additives and cement as accessories. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) and tensile strength of CMFB with various curing times and fly ash contents were tested indoors. A physical analogue simulation and FLAC3D numerical calculation were then successively implemented on the premise of determining a similar material ratio of CMFB in analogue simulation and calibrating the parameters of the CMFB in numerical simulation. The deformation of aquifuge and water level lowering while using CECB and CMFB with various proportion of fly ash were obtained. When using the CMFB with 75% fly ash content and 28 d curing time, the maximum values of vertical displacement, horizontal displacement, inclination, horizontal deformation and curvature of aquiclude were 26 mm, 6.5 mm, 0.12 mm/m, 0.08 mm/m and 0.0015 mm/m2, respectively, and the water table decreased 0.47 m. The results show that the CMFB with 75% fly ash is the most appropriate ratio to realize water preservation mining, CO2 sequestration and harmless treatment of solid wastes, contributing to the green and sustainable development of coal areas.

An intelligent optimization design method of the compressed ratio of backfilling body to avoid backfilling mining-induced environmental damage.

Backfilling mining is a green mining method. The rational design of the compressed ratio of the backfilling body can reduce backfilling mining costs while avoiding mining-induced environmental damage. At present, the enumeration method is a common design method for the compressed ratio of the backfilling body of backfilling mining under buildings (structures). However, the design method has some problems, such as cumbersome processes and time consumption. Therefore, this paper proposes an intelligent optimization design method of the compressed ratio of backfilling body and constructs the design flow of the method. The method takes economic benefits as the optimization goal and takes the mining-induced subsidence of protected objects to meet their fortification requirements as the constraint condition. Within the feasible region of the compressed ratio, the intelligent optimization algorithm is used to search for the minimum compressed ratio that satisfies the constraints. This paper used the method to design the compressed ratio of the backfilling panel in the Dongtan Coal Mine. The research results show that the method can quickly design the optimal compressed ratio compared with the enumeration method and cut the production cost on the premise of the safety of ground buildings (structures).

Simulation Study of the Velocity Profile and Deflection Rate of Non-Newtonian Fluids in the Bend Part of the Pipe

As resource extraction moves deeper underground, backfill mining has received a lot of attention from the industry as a very promising mining method that can provide a safe workplace for workers. However, the safe and efficient transport of fill slurry through pipelines still needs more exploration, especially in the bend section. In order to investigate the flow characteristics and velocity evolution of the slurry in the bend section of the pipe, a three-dimensional (3D) pipe model was developed using the computational fluid dynamics software Fluent, and nine sets of two-factor, three-level simulations were performed. Furthermore, a single-factor analysis was presented to investigate the effects of the two main influencing factors on the shifting of the maximum velocity of the slurry towards the distal side in the bend section, respectively. Then, the response surface analysis method was applied to the two-factor analysis of the maximum velocity shift and the weights of the two influencing factors were specified.

The Recent Progress China Has Made in Green Mine Construction, Part I: Mining Groundwater Pollution and Sustainable Mining.

With the development of technology, the concepts of “green” and “sustainable” have gradually been popularized in all walks of life. With the continuous development of the world mining industry, the efficiency of resource development in various countries has been improved, but mining activities and production will undoubtedly bring many environmental pollution problems. As a mining power, China is one of the first countries to put forward the concept of “green mining”. Over the years, as people emphasize safety and environmental protection, green mining technology has become the hot topic. At the same time, groundwater pollution caused by mining has become the focus of China’s “green mine construction”: with the continuous development of mining, mining activities and production will also undoubtedly bring significant environmental pollution. The environmental pollution of the mined area has a vital influence on the surrounding environment. The pollutants mainly come from mining operations and production of the mineral processing industry, including process wastewater, gas waste, smelting slag, etc., which are all acidic. Acid mine drainage (AMD) occurs in the process of mining production, due to the structure of minerals and the complex reactions between oxygen and minerals, and results in heavy metal ions leaching into groundwater. Once the groundwater is polluted, it will slowly flow to the surrounding area, resulting in the migration and diffusion of pollutants in the groundwater, affecting the surrounding rivers, farmland, and drinking water for residents. In recent years, environmental damage caused by groundwater pollution from underground mines in Shijiazhuang, China, and Selangor, Malaysia, has had a negative impact on rivers, farmland, and human health. At the same time, the paper introduces many key technologies of green mine construction, such as the backfill mining method. In cooperation with China Road & Bridge Corporation, this paper also introduces the progress in the reuse of mining waste, especially the use of mining waste as aggregate to prepare concrete materials for road and bridge construction. This information article introduces the development status of green mine construction in China and briefly reviews the key technologies of green mine construction in China.

Numerical investigation of creeping rockmass interaction with hardening and shrinking cemented paste backfill

Revealing the interaction mechanism between the time-dependent deformation of rockmass and hardening backfill are important for successful mining design. Based on laboratory tests and numerical simulation, a framework has been established to simulate the hardening CPB in backfilled stope, which could consider the strength evolution characteristics, stress curing conditions, filling rate and shrinkage strain of hardening CPB. Results show that three interaction process could be happened after the CPB poured into stope; the stress distribution in CPB affected by the combination of stress arching and squeezing effect when the rheological effect of rockmass is significant in deep backfilled stope, and the squeezing effect makes the stress in CPB exceed its self-weight stress; The hardening process, filling rate, stress curing conditions and shrinkage deformation of CPB influences significantly on the stress distribution of CPB itself and lateral deformation of the surrounding rockmass. It is necessary to consider the delayed supporting effect of CPB having obvious shrinkage characteristics, and this delayed supporting effect becomes more significant with to prolong of the delay filling. By analyzing the hardening process, curing stress, filling rate and shrinkage deformation of CPB during hardening process, the new mechanism of the interaction between CPB and surrounding rockmass is revealed, which can provide a theoretical basis for improving the support design of mine backfill.

A NEW METHOD TO CONTROL THE REGIONAL STRATA MOVEMENT OF SUPER-THICK WEAK CEMENTATION OVERBURDEN IN DEEP MINING

In the western of china, the deep mining area with super-thick and weak cementation overburden is vast, sparsely populated and the ecological environment is extremely fragile. With the large-scale exploitation of deep coal resources, it is inevitable to face green mining problem, whose essence is the surface subsidence control. Therefore, it is necessary to study the control technology for the regional mining based on the evolution law of subsidence movement and energy-polling of super-thick and weak cementation overburden, and put forward the economically design scheme that can control strata movement and surface subsidence in a certain degree. Based on the key strata control theory, this paper puts forward the subsidence control scheme of partial filling -partial caving in multi-working face coordinated mining, and further studies its control mechanism through the numerical simulation and then analyzes the control effect of the strata movement and energy-polling in the fully caving mining, backfill mining, wide strip skip-mining and mixed filling mining method etc., the following conclusions are detailed as follows: (1) The maximum value of energy-polling occurs on the coal pillars or on both sides of goaf. With the width of goaf, the maximum value of energy-polling increases in a parabola. (2) In the partial filling-partial caving multiple working faces coordinated mining based on the main key stratum, the stress distribution of the composite backfill in the filling working face is parabolic, and it is high on both sides and low in the middle. Moreover, in the composite backfill, the stress concentration degree of a outside coal pillar is greater than that of the inside coal pillar. (3)The control mechanism of partial filling-partial caving harmonious mining based on main key layer structure is the double-control cooperative deformation system, formed by the composite backfill and the main and sub-key layers structure. They jointly control the movement and energy accumulation of overlying strata by greatly reducing the effective space to transmit upward, and absorb the wave subsidence trend of the overburden until it develops into a single flat subsidence basin. (4) Considering the recovery rate, pillar rate, area filling rate, technical difficulty and subsidence coefficient etc., the partial filling-partial caving multiple working faces coordinated mining based on the main key stratum is the most cost-effective mining method to control surface subsidence. This paper takes a guiding role in controlling the regional strata movement and surface subsidence of deep mining with super-thick and weak cementation overburden.

Effects of thermal modification on the separation of clay-containing waste slurries

This paper summarizes the results of studies on the use of thermal modification in the separation of slurries of clay-containing ores. It is currently vital to minimize the environmental footprint of tailings storage facilities of mining and processing enterprises and municipal waste landfills handling liquid wastes and to ensure their respective sanitary and epidemiological safety. The main liquid waste management problems are due to high process water consumption, high energy costs for dewatering and drying of concentrates, caking and congelation of concentrates, complexity and environmental hazards of storing wet waste (tailings), unsuitable for use as mine backfill material, as well as the use of inefficient TSF liner systems with potential soil and effluent contamination risks. This article considers the properties of clay-containing slurries, coal tailings, and halitic potash flotation tailings. It is shown that heat treatment improves waste slurry separation. For dry kaolin separation tailings, heat treatment at 200–400 °C significantly reduces tailings plasticity and fluidity, weakening soil interparticle cohesion and facilitating larger internal friction angles of the particles. The resulting data is used to analyze the potential applications of clay-containing ore processing wastes as a replacement for cement and lime in soil stabilization, land improvement, and mine reclamation, or as components in liner systems of municipal solid waste landfills.This study was carried out under the grant issued by the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 19-79-10114).