PASTE & FILTERED TAILINGS
months of production to help new sites start on the right foot .
Expert-Owner collaboration can be an effective strategy in managing budgets . Operation troubleshooting often involves lots of data analysis which can be costly when done by an external resource . By pairing a junior site engineer with a seasoned expert , that work can be done at a lower cost and with a two-fold gain for the site : first , a solution to the problem and , valuable learning that remains in-house .
External resources can help pastefill operations perform safely , reach better utilisation targets and ultimately achieve lower costs
backfill often does not get the attention it requires until it is too late . An experienced pastefill expert can help raise the profile of backfill within the mine . These site support people often have an operations background to which they continue to have a deep connection . They are eager to pass their experience on to pastefill engineers – to provide them with the information they wish they had known at the start of their pastefill journey .
Operations support specialists are prepared to develop a long-term relationship with the site , similar to that of an engineer-of-record for a tailings storage area . A relationship in which everyone is invested in the pastefill operation ’ s success .
The opportunity
While on-going support is an extra operating cost , the gains realised in binder savings , improved uptime , safety and productivity can pay for itself quickly . In a long-term relationship , the external support team would become familiar with the site operation allowing them to step in at short notice to fill in labour shortages in the QA / QC , engineering , and operation roles .
Working together on these initiatives also fosters organic training for the site staff as they discuss issues with the paste expert . The site can take this experience one step further and develop job shadowing and training programs with the paste expert to grow the pastefill skills of their new staff instead of letting that knowledge walk out the door at the end of each repair job . There can also be value in having expert oversight of the backfill engineering and operation for the first six
Take away
Operational support can provide Owners with short / medium term engineering help to get the most out of their pastefill systems . To quote one long time miner who had been begging for help with an old system : “ It should not be harder to fill the hole , than it was to make the hole !” He ’ s right . The wheel should not be reinvented . Better to build on other ’ s experience to smoothly move from commissioning to a highly effective and sustainable pastefill operation .
For more in-depth discussion of Backfill Management Plans and Operational Support , the authors invite the reader to attend Paterson & Cooke ’ s annual Mine Backfill Design & Operation Course . The next one will be held in Sudbury , Canada , June 13th to 16th , 2023 .
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