Hydraulic Backfilling As Developed And Practised At East Driefontein

This paper describes the state of the art in backfilling techniques used on East Driefontein Gold Mine. Areas covered are the preparation plant, the distribution plant, the pipeline network and finally placement techniques. The in-situ performance of placed backfill has been assessed by the Chamber of Mines Research Organization, and results to date will be shared. Details of the backfill expansion programme that will enable this facility to be made available to all working places are included. Benefits obtained by the introduction of backfilling are described, together with certain management aspects to be considered in the control of quality and quantity of support supplied via a pipeline.