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Geotechnical News • December 2012
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GEOTECHNICAL INSTRUMENTATION NEWS
saturated (following the manufactur-
er’s recommendations) and the initial
reading zeroed.
There has also been an instance where
a problem with a data acquisition unit
occurred during filling, and a second
unit was connected to the transducers
while the fill proceeded. In this case
the second unit needs to be calibrated
to start pressure readings where the
previous unit left off (i.e. if this second
unit is zeroed then the accumulated
pressures to that point will not be
accounted for).
Train and empower the workforce
The best results have been obtained
when all involved mine personnel are
made fully aware of why the instru-
mentation is being installed and how
it is supposed to operate. Underground
construction crews have developed
novel, site-specific ways of best
deploying the instruments. Backfill
plant operators and underground
inspection personnel have been trained
in the expected system performance
and also in the signs that might sug-
gest undesired backfilling behaviour,
and a protocol has been established
for reporting early warning signs and
invoking an emergency shutdown.
Develop a site-specific database
It is critical that the mines keep
records of each fill and correlate the
filling performance with relevant
operating parameters such as backfill
material properties (mineralogy, water
chemistry and content, and binder type
and content), ambient temperature
and humidity, and backfill rise rates.
Regular comprehensive engineering
reviews of these experiences will then
allow fine-tuning of the backfilling
operation to optimize the costs and
benefits.
Summary
Attention to detail in the design, con-
struction, deployment and monitoring
of underground mine backfill sys-
tems can result in robust and reliable
monitoring programs that provide both
qualitative and quantitative informa-
tion. Careful engineering interpreta-
tion of monitoring results over a wide
range of backfilling conditions can
then help the engineering team to opti-
mize the mine’s backfill operations.
Murray W. Grabinsky
Associate Professor, University of
Toronto, GB314 - 35 St. George
Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A4,
(416) 978-7130,
murray.grabinsky@utoronto.ca
Ben D. Thompson
Sr. Research Scientist, MD Engineer-
ing, 7 - 1045 John Counter Blvd.,
Kingston, Ontario K7K 6C7,
(613) 507-7575,
ben.thompson@mdeng.ca
Will F. Bawden
Professor Emeritus, University of
Toronto, 3503 - 2181 Yonge St,
Toronto, Ontario M4S 3H7,
(416) 294-1427,
will.bawden@utoronto.ca
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