Materials properties of barricade bricks for mining applications

Abstract

Barricade bricks are fundamental to the safe operation of a mining site. Past failures have lead to loss of life and reduced mine efficiency or even shut down. The fundamental material property that determines the operational characteristics of barricade bricks is their permeability, which must be tailored to suit the operational environment of the mine. The ability of the barricade to control the hydraulic pressure within a stope application is crucial for safety and economic returns. In the current work practical barricade bricks were tested for permeability. As well, the strength and modulus of bricks were measured after being soaked in water for either 7 or 90 days so that a measure of their engineering functionality could be determined. The primary conclusions of this work are as follows. There was substantial deviation in permeability between bricks; however, the average permeability of the barricade bricks was several orders of magnitude larger than the values obtained for the hydraulic fill. This difference indicates that modelling efforts can assume that the barricade does not contribute to the pore pressure development within the fill. Hence the drainage of the system is not related to the permeability of these bricks provided that the barricades are built from the bricks in such a way that the construction or future migration of fines from the fill does not impede the drainage performance.

Mechanical Behaviour of the Interface Between Cemented Tailings Backfill and Retaining Structures Under Shear Loads

“…Further development of the barricade design led to the introduction of porous permeable bricks as barricade construction materials. The usage of permeable bricks allows drainage of excess water during backfilling, thereby limiting or avoiding the build-up of excessive hydraulic pressure behind the retaining wall (Berndt et al 2007). Finally, more recently, shotcrete and pumped concrete are used as barricade materials.…”

“…Finally, more recently, shotcrete and pumped concrete are used as barricade materials. These barricades can be impervious or drainage holes are fitted for mine backfills, such as hydraulic backfill, thereby requiring removal of excess water (Berndt et al 2007). An advantage of CPB as opposed to hydraulic backfill is due to its much lower water content; limited or negligible excess water is produced when the fill is stationary.…”

“…Mitchell et al 1975), and the resistance of barricade or bulkhead materials (e.g. Berndt et al 2007). Very few studies deal with the analysis of the shear behaviour of the interface between these retaining structures and the rock mass (e.g.…”

Composite paste barricade performance at Goldcorp Inc. Red Lake Mine, Ontario, Canada

“…Previous barricade studies have focused on timber barricades [1], concrete barricades [2,16] and brick barricades [3]. Previous studies have addressed the loading mechanics of hydraulic fill [1,4], however until recently the performance of barricades under paste loading has not been studied.…”