Investigation of Cemented Rockfill Properties Used at a Canadian Diamond Mine

• Author / Creator

  Lingga, Bob A

• Backfill utilization has been necessary for underground mining practices ever since the scarcity of economic minerals near ground surface started shallow underground mining. Economic factors inevitably realized this condition. Mine waste disposal and ground support means led to backfill utilization as a regular part of underground mining. Therefore, a study about backfill has the potential to keep the mining industry economically efficient. As an underground mining support, suppose backfill strengths and related properties are the determining parameters that are firstly considered in an underground mining support design with backfill application. Cemented rockfill as one type of backfill distinguishes its prospective potential from other types of cemented backfills because of its higher strength of nature. One underground mine in Northern Canada has presented the opportunity to study the cemented rockfill property of granite. In this research, the laboratory scale of cemented rockfill of granite was examined experimentally through unconfined compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, direct shear, and triaxial tests. As a result, complete strengths, elasticity, and shear properties of this particular granite cemented rockfill were obtained and are presented in this thesis. The completion of this part of the research work is expected to contribute toward cemented rockfill development of the Canadian mining sector, particularly with regard to diamond mines. In addition, this research also uses an unconventional testing technique and practical approach to give a new perspective on producing qualitative data from large-scale cemented rockfill samples due to testing impediment normally because of the standard large size of specimens. Therefore, perhaps the finding from these two works could be of use not only to granite cemented rockfill research but to backfill research in general.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Cemented rockfill
  • Rock mechanics
  • Strength properties
  • Elasticity properties
  • Backfill
  • Physical properties
  • Geomechanics
  • Shear properties

• Graduation date

  Spring 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3542JQ2J

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.