Mines often require filling for underground areas where material has been extracted, or as a base from where material will be extracted from, which helps to prevent collapsing from drilling/blasting, or dilution. It’s a reality that in modern operations water is scarce, and can’t be freely used to create slurry, so many mines use paste mixes instead. When this is done, specialised equipment is needed, such as mobile mine fill paste plants that integrate a twin shaft mixer and concrete silos.
Paste backfill is versatile and has a low surface footprint, making it more environmentally friendly than other backfill combinations. Overall, it has a lower cost and can consistently be produced at high quality levels. As it is non-segregating, it reduces dilution, and its fast filling time helps increase productivity on sites. When you are dealing with a large mine, you will be able to produce this fill from the adjacent plant facility, but in remote locations or in smaller areas a mobile storage and transportation solution is needed.
When a mobile mine fill paste plant is used, it can easily be transported to any site via track or flat rack before being quickly and easily assembled. Twin mixers operate horizontally at a high output and flow rate, and come equipped with coupling for water, additive plant and screw conveyor silos. Batching of the paste is facilitated through a dedicated aggregate weighing/batching system with load cells, and extraction is facilitated through electric vibrator kits as well as galvanised extractor belts. Pastes can also be prepared in single batches, or through continuous mixing.
When it comes to mixing, the plant can automatically calculate particle size to create the optimum paste mix, correcting withheld moisture levels when necessary. To ensure mixing creates a homogenous end result, and that particles and additives combine thoroughly with cement ingredients, the twin-shaft batch mixer will move in an uninterrupted spiral motion at low speed. This ensures that energy consumption remains low, whilst preventing machine wear and tear. Once production has commenced, the end result can be stored in adjacent silos.
Whether you’re looking for a complete mixing and silo storage solution, or are interested on the individual components, Batchcrete can match you up with the right solution for your mining operation. For more information, get in touch with us today.
