Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09132-x

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Utilisation of lead–zinc mill tailings and slag as paste backfill materials

S. K. Behera1   · C. N. Ghosh1 · K. Mishra1 · D. P. Mishra2 · Prashant Singh1 · P. K. Mandal1 · J. Buragohain1 · M. K. Sethi1

Received: 17 July 2019 / Accepted: 5 August 2020

© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
Paste backfilling is an incipient underground mine backfill technology in India. It facilitates maximum use of mill tailings
with enhanced stability of the underground workings and minimises rehandling of water, as well as provides bulk disposal
of mining solid waste. Binder type and dosage plays an important role in paste backfill performance. This paper highlights
environmentally friendly utilisation of solid wastes like lead–zinc mill tailings and lead–zinc smelter fuming furnace slag
(FFS) as paste backfilling for an underground metalliferous mine. Various experiments were conducted to study the effect
of use of FFS as a fractional replacement for ordinary portland cement (OPC) in paste backfilling. The physico-chemical
properties of both the lead–zinc mill tailings and fuming furnace slag (FFS) have been examined. In the first set of experi-
ments, raw slag (FFS) was used for paste backfill preparation and experimentation for uniaxial compressive strength (UCS)
development, whereas in the second set of experiments, FFS was crushed to -75 μm (80 wt%) and used for the study. Mul-
tiple regression analysis of strength development was also conducted up to fifth order. The regression analysis is in accord-
ance with the strength development and justifies the significance of OPC, crushed fuming furnace slag (CFFS) and waste
chemistry on the strength gain with curing time. Use of crushed fuming furnace slag as OPC replacement in paste backfill
showed encouraging results of strength development in contrast to raw FFS. Also, the economic analysis revealed that the
paste backfilling cost per tonne reduced significantly with slag replacement in the binder phase.

Keywords  Mining · Lead–zinc mill tailings · Fuming furnace slag · Paste backfill · Compressive strength

Introduction uncemented backfilling, where the waste material is poured

Mining and mineral processing industry generates huge
quantities of wastes every year. This enormous volume of
waste needs a proper environmentally friendly disposal
technique. Use of large strips of land adversely affects air,
water and soil (Ercikdi et al. 2009). Underground disposal
of such industrial waste is an effective solution (Karfakis
et al. 1996; Edraki et al. 2014; Coussy et al. 2011; Belem
and Benzaazoua 2008). Two basic types of backfilling are
used for underground metal mines. The first one is backfill-
ing with binder, such as ordinary portland cement (OPC)
or blends of natural pozzolans like slag, fly ash, gypsum
along with OPC (Tariq and Yanful 2013). The second one is
* S. K. Behera
skbcimfr@yahoo.com
1
CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research,
Dhanbad, Jharkhand 826015, India
2
Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute
of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, Jharkhand 826004, India
into the stope without adding any binder. The developed
version of cemented backfilling is paste backfilling, where
mill tailings are mixed with a definite dosage of binder such
as OPC, fly ash, lime, and slag (Sivakugan et al. 2006) and
optimum solid to water ratio is maintained in such a way
that the backfill mix is easily flowable. The backfill mass has
to be self-standing when the adjacent stopes are extracted.
This is achieved by adding binders to the paste backfill so
that, it develops ample strength and cohesion (Yilmaz et al.
2014; Panchal et al. 2018). The use of underground paste
backfill enhances ground support, minimises surface subsid-
ence, roof fall, and improves ore recovery and productivity
(Deb et al. 2017). Reticulated pipeline system is used for the
transportation of paste backfill from surface to the under-
ground voids. It provides a flexible system for coping with
the complex mining structures.
Supplementary cementitious materials have been used
increasingly in the production of composite cements.
Slag has been found to be a successful OPC replacement
in concrete structures (Albitar et al. 2015; Sharmila and

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Dhinakaran 2016). It acts as a binding agent and finds
its application in concrete, stabilisation of clay, as a sub-
stitute for sand in hybrid concrete, and in cement indus-
tries (Sekhar and Nayak 2017). Use of slag as a binding
material in cement industries has expanded as compared
to other pozzolanic materials (Feng et al. 2019). Slag has
a relatively stable chemical composition (de Lima and
Bernardez 2011), high acid attack resistance, better work-
ability, and imparts relatively higher strength as compare
to other pozzolanic materials like silica fumes and fly ash
(Alwaeli 2017). Slag also finds its application as a coarse
aggregate in paste backfilling (Wu et al. 2015).
OPC is normally used as a sole binder for the prepara-
tion of paste backfill (Xu et al. 2020); however, economy
is a major concern for OPC based paste backfill. To make
the paste backfill more economic, by-products like slag
and fly ash are often used as substitutes for OPC. Continu-
ous research around the world for alternative binders has
resulted in the adoption of pozzolanic products such as fly
ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (Ben-
zaazoua et al. 2002; Fall and Samb 2007; Amaratunga and
Yaschyshyn 1997; Yilmaz et al. 2014; Jiang et al. 2019).
Slag not only increases strength but also causes positive
improvement on the pore size distribution of the cemented
paste backfill (Ouellet et al. 2007). Usual binder fraction
addition with paste backfill varies in the range of 3–15%
by weight (Benzaazoua et al. 2002). Paste backfill design
for underground mine stopes requires backfill mix opti-
misation through lab tests (Ercikdi et al. 2009; He et al.
2019). Several studies reported the use of iron and steel
slag as OPC replacement of paste backfill; however, stud-
ies on lead–zinc smelter slag usage in paste backfilling are
few. Though many studies have been conducted regarding
cost analysis of concrete (Sharmila and Dhinakaran 2016),
the economic analysis of paste backfill is limited.
Fig. 1  Location of the study site in India
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Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389
Two main slag categories are generated in a lead–zinc
smelter. First category is imperial smelting furnace (ISF)
slag, a by-product produced during the process of primary
smelting of zinc ore in blast furnace (Prasad and Ramana
2016). ISF slag is a granulated, glassy material with the
appearance of dark coloured sand. The second category is
fuming furnace slag (FFS), which is generated when molten
zinc is volatilised from the slag and re-oxidised to form zinc
oxide (fume) that is recovered from the process gases.
This paper describes the physical and chemical properties
of mill tailings and slag, paste backfill recipe optimisation
through various lab tests, strength development and load-
deformation characteristics of paste backfill. In particular, it
investigates the compressive strength development of paste
backfill using fuming furnace slag (FFS) and crushed fum-
ing furnace slag (CFFS) as partial OPC replacements. Fur-
ther it explains the multiple regression analysis (up to fifth
order) of strength development of paste backfill. At the end,
the economic analysis explores the cost saving of paste back-
filling that could be achieved by replacing OPC with FFS
and CFFS. This study will be helpful for application of slag
as OPC replacement of paste backfill and for future research
in the area of paste backfilling for underground metal mines.
Materials and methods
Materials
This particular study has been conducted for a lead–zinc
underground mine in the western part of India (Fig. 1). The
ore body is having a strike length of 2.3 km trending N15º
E to S15º W having a moderate to steep dip of magnitude
varying from 55º to 75º oriented westerly/easterly. The hang-
ing wall and footwall rocks are quartzite/quartz–mica schist
and dolomite/calcitic biotite schist, respectively. The ore
Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389 Page 3 of 18  389
mineralogy consists of sphalerite and galena occurring as
irregular fracture fillings, bands, veins, stringers and dis-
seminations hosted in calc-sillicate dolomite and graphite
mica schist. In general, sublevel stoping with backfilling is
adopted in the mine, whereas in some part of the mine, blast-
hole stoping with backfilling is practiced. The mine uses the
mill tailings produced as a by-product of ore beneficiation
for stope backfilling. Three sets of mill tailings samples were
collected in air tight drums from the existing paste backfill
plant.
Similarly, FFS samples were collected from the lead–zinc
smelter. Slag is produced in the zinc smelter furnace when
coke is fed into the shaft of the furnace from the top and
the blast air enters through tuyeres in the lower part of the
furnace. Lead and slag are tapped from the furnace hearth,
and furnace gas and zinc vapour leave the shaft through
the furnace offtake. The overflowing slag from the hearth
is directed into a launder where it is granulated by high-
pressure water jets. FFS is vitreous and nonporous in nature.
Three sets of slag samples were collected following grab
sampling technique. The FFS samples were crushed to below
75 µm (80wt% passing) and this crushed slag is termed as
crushed fuming furnace slag (CFFS). The lead–zinc mill
tailings and slag were analysed for their physico-chemical
properties. OPC grade-43 (IS: 8112, 2013) manufactured by
Emami Cement Limited, FFS and CFFS were used as binder
of paste backfill for this study.
Physical properties
The physical properties such as specific gravity, bulk den-
sity and particle size distribution of mill tailings, FFS and
CFFS were studied (Fall et al. 2005). The specific grav-
ity (G) was determined from the bulk densities (ρ) of the
samples as per IS: 2386, part III, 1963. The mean values
of three repeated experiments were considered as the final
bulk density and specific gravity of the samples. Scanning
Fig. 2  Scanning electron microscopy instrument a SEM setup, b inside view of sample chamber and c sample holder with carbon tape
electron microscopy (SEM) technique was used to investi-
gate the morphology of tailings and slag samples for which
ZEISS-MERLIN VP COMPACT (Jena, Germany) instru-
ment was used (Fig. 2). A mechanised sieve shaker was used
to study the particle size distribution of the relatively coarser
fraction of the backfill mix i.e. raw FFS samples. Whereas,
laser diffraction technique was used for finer particles, i.e.
lead–zinc mill tailings and CFFS samples. For this particle
size distribution analysis, Malvern MASTERSIZER—3000
(Worcester, United Kingdom) instrument was used, which
works on the wet dispersion method.
Chemical analysis
The chemical composition of the tailings and slag samples
were determined using Rigaku, ZSX Primus (Tokyo, Japan)
instrument. It follows X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique.
The XRF experiments were conducted in triplicates and the
mean values are reported as the chemical composition of the
tailings and slag samples.
In addition to the above-mentioned XRF analysis, ele-
mental analysis of the tailings and slag samples was also
conducted by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) uti-
lizing a ZEISS-MERLIN VP COMPACT TEAM™ EDS
System using Apollo X silicon drift detector (SDD). The
SEM instrument was operated with accelerated voltage
(15.00 kV), beam current (210 pA) and working distance
(13.1 mm). For determining the elemental composition,
point analyses were done on the SEM micrographs of the
tailings and slag samples.
Paste backfill preparation
The mine site for this study required a targeted uniaxial com-
pressive strength (UCS) of paste backfill of 1.1 MPa after
28 days’ of curing. Presently, the mine stopes use a binder
content of 8 wt% (dry weight of binder/weight of solid) in
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 389   Page 4 of 18
paste backfill for backfilling the stopes. With this targeted
UCS and to reduce the OPC consumption, slag was tried as a
replacement of OPC in the paste backfill. Initially, two refer-
ence paste backfill mixtures were prepared at 8 wt% OPC
and 5 wt% OPC. Thereafter, OPC was gradually replaced
with slag. The paste backfill mix was prepared by mixing
dry mill tailings, OPC and slag in a mixer for about 3 min.
After dry mixing, the mixture was thoroughly mixed by add-
ing water for about 15 min. Immediately after preparation of
the paste backfill mix, the mix was poured into cylindrical
plastic moulds of 54 mm diameter and 108 mm height main-
taining a length to diameter ratio (L/D) of 2 for evaluating
the strength development in 7, 14, 28 and 56 days’ of curing
time. Similarly, paste backfill was also prepared with CFFS
as gradual OPC replacements.
Study of consistency of paste backfill
The consistency of the paste backfill was measured by
slump test (Fig. 3) as soon as the paste backfill mix was pre-
pared in accordance with ASTM C143/C143M-15a (C143/
C143M–15a 2015). The slump is the vertical depression
height after the slump cone was lifted in a vertically upward
direction. The slump test was also used to determine the
Fig. 3  a Paste backfill and b
slump test
Fig. 4  Paste backfill sample under uniaxial loading a uniaxial loading of paste backfill sample, b hour glass type failure, c setup for deformation
measurement and d longitudinal crack development
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Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389
optimum water requirement for each paste backfill mix by
maintaining a constant slump of 195 ± 2 mm.
Strength development of paste backfill
Cylindrical moulds were prepared with a diameter of 54 mm
and maintaining a L/D ratio of 2. The load-bearing capac-
ity of the paste backfill samples were determined by UCS
test at 7, 14, 28 and 56 days’ curing duration, as shown in
Fig. 4. A constant humidity and temperature similar to the
underground mine environment was maintained at the lab.
Moreover, drained samples were used for strength devel-
opment evaluation. A constant loading rate of 0.5 MPa/s
(IS: 9143, 1979) was maintained throughout the loading
process for determining UCS (Fig. 4a) and these tests were
conducted in triplicates to maintain accuracy and reliability
of the results and the mean of the results were considered.
The failure patterns observed throughout the tested samples
are not uniform. Few samples had shown longitudinal crack
development (Fig. 4d) and few samples followed an hour-
glass-type failure pattern (Fig. 4b). Also, the deformation
characteristics (stress–strain plot, peak stress and strain and
modulus of elasticity) of the paste backfill samples (Fig. 4c)
were investigated as per IS: 9221, 1979.
Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389 Page 5 of 18  389

Results and discussion determined values of D10, D30 and D60 according to the
following equations (Behera et al. 2019):
Physical properties of mill tailings and slag
Coefficient of uniformity (Cu) = D60∕D10, (1)
Both the tailings and slag samples are heavy as the spe-
cific gravities are determined 2.91 and 2.97, respectively. Coefficient of curvature (Cc) = (D30 × D30)∕ (D60 × D10),
(2)
The particle size of lead–zinc mill tailings, FFS and CFFS
varies in the range of 0.1–420, 0.1–1200 and 0.1–90 μm, where D10 = grain size at 10% passing. D30 = grain size at
respectively (Table 1). The particle size distribution curve 30% passing. D60 = grain size at 60% passing.
of mill tailings, FFS and CFFS samples are presented in In the case of mill tailings and FFS, Cu and Cc are
Fig. 5. below 6 and 1, respectively. Therefore, these samples are
The coefficient of uniformity (Cu) and coefficient of considered as poorly graded. Whereas, in CFFS, Cu and
curvature (Cc) for all the samples are calculated using the Cc are above 6 and 1, respectively, hence CFFS is well
graded in accordance with the standard for classification
and gradation of soils ASTM D2487 (2011).
The bulk particle size of the tailings sample is 39.54 µm
Table 1  Physical characterisation of mill tailings, FFS and CFFS [D(4,3)—volume moment mean diameter], whereas the
Parameters Mill tailings FFS CFFS bulk particle size of majority of CFFS is 51.24 µm. Simi-
larly, the surface area mean diameter, D(3,2) signifies the
Colour Grey Black Black
existence of fine grained material in tailings and CFFS
Specific gravity (G) 2.91 2.97 2.96
samples.
Bulk density (ρ), g/cm3 1.49 1.38 1.36
The SEM micrograph of mill tailings sample shows
Particle size distribution
that the tailings particles are mostly uneven, angular, and
D(4,3), μm 39.54 – 51.24
quadrangular in shape with sharp edges (Fig. 6a). In con-
D(3,2), μm 9.972 – 11.63
trast, FFS samples are mostly sub-rounded to angular in
D90, μm 89.13 850 64.26
shape with distinct asperities and edges. Most particles
D50, μm 37.92 430 35.5
inspected underneath the SEM have rough and irregular
D10, μm 11.75 325 6.48
surface textures. Most have high sphericity and solid struc-
D30, μm 22.48 400 20.9
ture (Fig. 6b). Similarly, CFFS shows finer circular to sub-
D60, μm 50.73 550 41.8
circular with some irregular particles (Fig. 6c) depend-
Coefficient of uniformity, C­ u 4.32 1.69 6.45
ing upon the degree of crushing and grinding (the glassy
Coefficient of curvature, ­Cc 0.85 0.9 1.61
texture of slag makes it very hard and difficult to grind).
Specific surface area (­ m2/kg) 481.4 – 635.6

Fig. 5  Particle size distribution 110

curves of mill tailings, FFS and
CFFS 100

90
Mill tailings
% Passing (Cumulative)

80 Crushed FFS
70 FFS
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1 10 100 1000
Particle size (μm)

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 389   Page 6 of 18
Fig. 6  SEM investigation of particle morphology of a mill tailings, b fuming furnace slag (FFS), and c crushed fuming furnace slag (CFFS)
Chemical properties of lead–zinc mill tailings
and slag
The chemical composition of tailings and slag samples was
determined by XRF analysis with 95% accuracy. Table 2
demonstrates the chemical composition of lead–zinc mill
tailings and slag samples used in the present study and
the previously reported chemical composition results of
various types of tailings and slag. Both the tailings and
slag samples are enriched in silica (­ SiO 2), lime (CaO),
ferric oxide ­(Fe2O3) and alumina ­(Al2O3). The major dif-
ferences in both the tailings and slag samples are the con-
tent of S
­ iO2, ­Fe2O3, MgO and S ­ O3. Slag comprises higher
percentage of S ­ iO2 and ­Fe2O3 and lower MgO and S ­ O3
content relative to the tailings sample. Its noteworthy that
the quantity of ferric oxide (­ Fe 2O 3) in slag (28.02%) is
higher than that of tailings (16.58%). Due to increased
content of ­SiO2 (37.91%), A ­ l2O3 (12.72%), CaO (14.66%)
and ­Fe 2O 3 (28.02%) in the slag samples, it can be suit-
able replacement for OPC of the paste backfill. Moreover,
the presence of CaO (14.66%) in the slag may enhance
the strengthening property of the amalgamated mill tail-
ings, slag and OPC. However, the CaO content in slag
is far below that of OPC grade-43 (CaO—63.81%). Fur-
thermore, the high ­SO3 (10.43%) content in the lead–zinc
tailings may have a negative impact on strength in long run
as the vulnerability due to sulfate attack may increase with
time. Table 2 compares the chemical compositions of the
tailings analysed in the present study with those reported
in other studies. The variation in chemical composition
13
Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389
may be due to the difference in minerals mined, rock type
and geological occurrence. Similarly, slag of present study
shows variation in chemical composition as compared to
the previously reported studies. The variation is may be
due to the difference in type of slag used (nickel, steel,
iron, copper and lead–zinc slag).
Chemically, the slag used in this study can be compared
with OPC grade-43, India using the following relation:
CaO − 0.7 SO3
. (3)
2.8 SiO2 + 1.2 Al2 O3 + 0.65 Fe2 O3
The above-mentioned ratio of lime to percentages of
silica, alumina and iron oxide; known as lime saturation
factor, in the studied slag is found to be 0.10, which is
much lower than the desired value of 0.66–1.02 in OPC
grade-43, India.
The elemental composition of the tailings and slag sam-
ples were determined using SEM–EDS with Apollo X sili-
con drift detector (SDD) as explained in the materials and
methods section. A comparison between the elemental com-
position of tailings and slag used in the present and previ-
ous studies is made in Table 3. The dissimilarity observed
in the elemental compositions of tailings may be due to
the difference in tailings type (lead–zinc, tungsten and red
mud). Similarly, the differences in the elemental composi-
tion of slag in both the present analysis and study reported
by Alwali (Alwaeli 2017) are may be due to the variation in
inherent properties of lead–zinc ore and different locations
(India and Poland). The detection of “O” in all the studies as
 Environmental Earth Sciences

Table 2  XRF Chemical compositions of lead–zinc mill tailings and slag by mass (%)
Oxides SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 TiO2 CaO MgO P2O5 SO3 Na2O K2O MnO CO2 CuO BaSO4 LOI Total
(2020) 79:389

Tailings
 Lead–zinc mill tailings (present study) 33.34 12.13 16.58 0.37 17.42 6.43 1.08 10.43 0.49 1.73 – – – – – 100
 Uranium mine tailings, India (Panchal et al. 2018) 16.39 2.62 3.045 0.11 23.19 16.54 2.05 0.76 1.63 1.31 0.25 – 0.11 – 31.85 100
 Red mud, Turkey (Akinci and Artir 2007) 16.37 19.31 37.48 5.07 2.28 – 0.13 0.1 9.83 0.08 – 2.07 – – 7.44 100
 Copper–zinc tailings, Turkey (Ercikdi et al. 2013) 11.12 2.22 49.47 0.06 1.58 1.9 0.02 – 0.18 0.08 0.07 – – 1.16 27.6 95
 Silica tailings, Canada (Fall and Pokharel 2010) 99.8 0.05 0.035 0.02 0.01 0.01 – – – 0.02 – – – – – 100
 Tungsten mine tailings, South Korea (Kim et al. 2016) 59.6 8.57 11.59 0.62 10.94 1.83 0.27 1.9 0.09 1.53 0.49 – – – – 97
Slag
 Lead–zinc smelter slag (present study) 37.91 12.72 28.02 0.48 14.66 2.75 0.52 0.36 1.14 1.43 – – – – – 100
 Blast furnace slag, Spain (Puertas et al. 2014) 35.5 13.6 0.4 – 41 4.1 – 0.1 0.01 – – – – – 2.7 97
 Steel slag, India (Dubey et al. 2012) 34.4 21.5 0.2 – 33.2 9.5 0.54 0.66 – – – – – – – 100
 Steel slag, China (Jianming et al. 2018) 20.38 5.25 29.56 0.68 34.21 5.69 0.62 – – – 1.63 – – – – 98
 Iron blast-furnace slag, Egypt (Rashad 2018) 36.95 10.01 1.48 0.52 33.07 6.43 0.1 3.52 1.39 0.74 0.52 – – – – 95
 Granulated blast furnace slag, Turkey (Cihangir et al. 2012) 39.68 15.07 – 0.96 33.37 7.84 0.01 1.87 – – 0.97 – – – – 100
 Slag, UK (Rashad et al. 2013) 34.94 11.69 3.32 0.49 40.49 7.42 0.01 1.19 0.16 0.34 0.27 – – – – 100
 Nickel slag, China (Yang et al. 2017) 52.27 6.19 4.2 0.1 8.77 26.93 – – 0.11 0.16 – – – – – 99

LOI loss on ignition

Page 7 of 18 
389

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Table 3  SEM–EDS elemental composition of lead–zinc mill tailings and slag

Element (wt%) Mill tailings Slag
Lead–zinc tailings, Tungsten mine tailings, Red mud, Turkey, Lead–zinc smelter Granulated lead–zinc
(present study) South Korea, (Kim et al. (Akinci and Artir slag (present study) slag, Poland, (Alwaeli
2016) 2007) 2017)

O 45.13 37.1 30.76 41.17 59.09

Mg 7.87 0.9 – 0.87 3.48
Al 2.13 5.3 12.72 2.00 6.19
Si 26.20 18.3 8.74 5.93 8.19
Y 0.67 – – – –
S 4.97 2.3 0.20 0.37 1.58
K 0.67 1.2 0.32 0.50 –
Ca 5.50 1.2 0.92 4.00 8.90
Mn 0.37 – – 0.33 –
Fe 4.97 33.1 34.01 15.43 11.22
Ho 0.17 – – –
C – – – 11.97 –
Na 0.80 – 8.33 4.53 –
Pb – – – 0.80 0.56
Eu 0.63 – – – –
Mo – – – 11.43 –
Zn – – – 0.73 –
Ti – – 4.0 – –
Cu – 0.8 – – 0.89
Total 100 100 100 100 100

shown in Table 3 reflects the oxide phase of elements. The concentrations of Si, Na, Mg, K, Ca, Al, S, Mn, Pb, and Zn.
elemental composition results revealed that the mill tailings The representative EDS spectra of the lead–zinc mill tail-
mainly consist of Si, Mg, Ca, S and Fe, whereas the slag ings and fuming furnace slag are presented in Figs. 7 and
sample is predominated by Fe, C, and Mo, and significant 8, respectively.

Fig. 7  SEM–EDS analysis: a SEM image of lead–zinc mill tailings, and b element composition analysis of the spots by EDS

13
Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389 Page 9 of 18  389
Fig. 8  SEM–EDS analysis: a SEM image of fuming furnace slag, and b element composition analysis of the spots by EDS
Slump test results
The optimum solid percentages of the paste backfill for dif-
ferent binder scenarios were determined in two stages. At
the first stage, the required solid percentage was increased
by 1% using FFS along with OPC as a binder. In the sec-
ond stage, this process was repeated for CFFS with OPC as
a binder. The goals were to have a constant slump height
(± 2 mm variation) and to find the optimum solid percentage
of paste backfill for various binder proportions. For the paste
backfill with 8wt% OPC binder, the optimum solid percent-
age was found to be 77 wt% with a slump of 195 mm. The
optimum solid percentages for the all paste backfill mixtures
were determined based on the repeated slump tests and the
results are presented in Table 4. The water requirement was
increased from 23 to 24 wt% when more than 1 wt% of
FFS was used as binder. Hence, use of FFS in paste back-
fill requires more water as compared to typical OPC-based
paste backfill. However, crushing the slag to a suitable size
may require comparatively less water for the paste backfill
transportation, as the crushed fine granular particles would
increase the flowability of paste backfill.
Effect of slag on strength
The UCS values of all the tested paste backfill samples with
OPC as sole binder and partially replaced FFS are presented
in Table 5 and plotted in Fig. 9. It was observed that with
curing time, strength of paste backfill increased for all the
paste backfill samples, which is a natural fact of the cement
hydration process. Moreover, the maximum rate of increase
in UCS of paste backfill samples was visible between 14
and 28 days’ of curing while the rate was reduced between
28 and 56 days’ of curing. This phenomenon is related to
the microstructural evolution of paste backfill and forma-
tion of cement hydration products with time (Behera et al.
2020). For this study area, the site required a 28 day UCS of
1.1 MPa, which was achieved by ­BPF1 (8 wt% OPC), ­BPF2
(7 wt% OPC) and ­BPF3 (6 wt% OPC).
The rate of strength increase was slower for FFS plus
OPC-based paste backfill as compared to the sole OPC based
paste backfill. This reduction in rate of strength increase
could be related to the coarse particle size of FFS. The poz-
zolanic property of FFS does not get activated at this coarser
particle size of FFS. It only served the purpose of aggregate
replacement instead of binder. The presence of smaller quan-
tities of coarser FFS particles acted as the source of failure
point in the paste backfill samples. This resulted in lower
strength of paste backfill samples with OPC-FFS binder as
compared to the sole OPC-based paste backfill. Though UCS
of paste backfill reduced with FFS replacement in OPC, still
the targeted 28 days’ UCS of 1.1 MPa of paste backfill was
achieved by mix ­FFS81 (7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% FFS).
However, when the CFFS (< 75 μm) was used with OPC
for paste backfill, the results were encouraging (Fig. 10)
in terms of strength development as that of raw FFS plus
OPC-based paste backfill. This better strength development
of paste backfill is due to the enhanced fineness and surface
area of binder phase (OPC-CFFS) as compared to OPC-FFS
binder. Also, crushing the slag below < 75 μm assisted in
activating the pozzolanic property of slag.
It was also found that the addition of CFFS reduced
the peak UCS at different days of curing in comparison
to paste backfill with OPC as sole binder (Table 5). How-
ever, the site required a threshold UCS value of paste
backfill of 1.1 MPa, which was achieved by mix ­CFFS81
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Table 4  Paste mix with slump Mix Binder (wt%) OPC replacement Slump (mm) Solid to
and solid to water ratio (wt%) water ratio
(wt%)

BPF1 (control 1) 8% OPC 0 195 77:23

BPF2 7% OPC 0 193 78:22
BPF3 6% OPC 0 195 78:22
BPF4(control 2) 5% OPC 0 197 78:22
BPF5 4% OPC 0 197 78:22
FFS81 7% OPC + 1% FFS 12.5 195 77:23
FFS82 6% OPC + 2% FFS 25 195 76:24
FFS83 5% OPC + 3% FFS 37.5 197 76:24
FFS84 4% OPC + 4% FFS 50 197 76:24
FFS51 4% OPC + 1% FFS 20 193 77:23
FFS52 3% OPC + 2% FFS 40 195 76:24
FFS53 2% OPC + 3% FFS 60 197 76:24
CFFS81 7% OPC + 1% CFFS 12.5 197 77:23
CFFS82 6% OPC + 2% CFFS 25 196 77:23
CFFS83 5% OPC + 3% CFFS 37.5 196 77:23
CFFS84 4% OPC + 4% CFFS 50 193 78:22
CFFS51 4% OPC + 1% CFFS 20 193 77:23
CFFS52 3% OPC + 2% CFFS 40 195 77:23
CFFS53 2% OPC + 3% CFFS 60 195 78:22

FFS fuming furnace slag, CFFS crushed fuming furnace slag, BPF base paste backfill

Table 5  The UCS and young’s Binder (wt%) UCS (MPa) E (MPa)

modulus (E) of paste backfill
samples 7 days’ 14 days’ 28 days’ 56 days’ 7 days’ 14 days’ 28 days’ 56 days’

8% OPC (Control 1) 1.26 1.37 2.25 2.31 390 410 690 730
7% OPC 1.1 1.13 2.18 2.21 370 400 570 670
6% OPC 0.82 1.11 1.16 1.43 220 350 540 560
5% OPC (Control 2) 0.71 0.98 1.08 1.18 160 290 450 490
4% OPC 0.51 0.81 0.98 1.15 110 190 390 480
7% OPC + 1% FFS 0.95 1.10 1.85 2.08 322 392 485 637
6% OPC + 2% FFS 0.78 0.96 0.98 1.34 211 298 454 521
5% OPC + 3% FFS 0.63 0.89 0.95 1.12 169 255 396 465
4% OPC + 4% FFS 0.52 0.86 1.01 1.16 112 201 402 494
4% OPC + 1% FFS 0.49 0.7 0.84 0.98 106 164 334 418
3% OPC + 2% FFS 0.28 0.31 0.45 0.62 60 73 179 264
2% OPC + 3% FFS 0.23 0.27 0.3 0.34 50 63 119 145
7% OPC + 1% CFFS 1.12 1.22 2.23 2.28 377 398 581 690
6% OPC + 2% CFFS 1 1.18 1.68 1.82 268 371 556 596
5% OPC + 3% CFFS 0.74 1.03 1.08 1.35 198 305 459 549
4% OPC + 4% CFFS 0.69 0.96 1.07 1.28 149 224 425 533
4% OPC + 1% CFFS 0.65 0.90 1 1.21 140 210 397 504
3% OPC + 2% CFFS 0.62 0.79 0.87 1.01 133 184 346 420
2% OPC + 3% CFFS 0.60 0.66 0.76 0.89 129 154 302 370

FFS fuming furnace slag, CFFS crushed fuming furnace slag

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Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389 Page 11 of 18  389
Fig. 9  UCS result with varying
FFS content and curing time
Fig. 10  UCS result with varying
CFFS content and curing time
(7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% CFFS) and ­CFFS82 (6 wt% OPC + 2
wt% CFFS) as shown in Fig. 10.
The rate of strength development in CFFS substituted
binder was comparatively slower than that of the control
sample 1 (8 wt% OPC). The reduction in UCS of the paste
backfill with slag replaced binder, as compared to paste
backfill with OPC as sole binder, could be related to low
values (0.10—relation 3) which is far below the value of
0.66–1.02 in OPC grade-43 (India).
Reduction of UCS of backfill with slag replacement
has been reported by Ercikdi et al. 2009 and Jiang et al.
2019. Ercikdi et al. 2009 replaced OPC with slag up to
20, 40 and 60% in the 5 wt% OPC group and observed
a reduction in 28 days UCS from 0.7 MPa to 0.45, 0.25
and 0.1 MPa, respectively (Table 6). Similarly, Jiang et al.
2019 replaced OPC with slag up to 20, 50 and 80% in the
10 wt% OPC group and observed a reduction in 28 days
UCS from 5.4 MPa to 3.1, 1.25 and 0.5 MPa, respectively.
In contrast, Coussy et al. 2011 and He et al. 2019 reported
an increase in UCS of backfill with slag replacement. Dif-
ferences in mineralogy and chemical composition of tail-
ings material and slag (due to differences in the primary
ore) could be the reason for such conflicting trend of UCS
development.
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Table 6  Comparison of UCS development in paste backfill of the present study with previous studies
Backfill material Binder 28 days UCS (MPa) 56 days UCS(MPa) References

Sulphide rich mill tailings, OPC (5 wt% group) 0.7 0.84 Ercikdi et al. (2009)
Turkey GBFS replacement up to 0.45, 0.25 and 0.1, respec- 0.7, 0.38 and 0.18, respec-
20%, 40% and 60% of OPC tively tively
Gold mine tailings, Canada OPC (5 wt% group) 0.5 NA Coussy et al. (2011)
Slag replacement up to 80% 2 2.1
of OPC (5 wt% group)
Lead–zinc tailings, China OPC (10 wt% group) 1.64 2.28 He et al. (2019)
Lithium slag up to 25% of 2.28 3.37
binder (10% group)
Granite gneiss rock aggregate OPC (10wt% group) 5.4 5.75 Jiang et al. (2019)
and sand, CRF, China Slag replacement up to 20%, 3.1, 1.25 and 0.5, respec- 3.8, 1.8 and 0.75, respec-
50% and 80% of OPC tively tively
Lead–zinc tailings, Western OPC (8 wt%) 2.25 2.31 Present study
India FFS replacement up to 12.5% 1.85 2.08
of OPC (8 wt% group)
CFFS replacement up to 1.68 to 2.23 1.82 to 2.28
12.5% of OPC (8wt%
group)

NA not available, GBFS granulated blast furnace slag, FFS fuming furnace slag, CFFS crushed fuming furnace slag, CRF cemented rock backfill

Fig. 11  Typical stress–strain plots: a effect of curing time on the stress–strain behaviour of paste backfill (8 wt% OPC) and b effect of binder
type and dosage on the stress–strain behaviour of paste backfill

Deformation characteristics of paste backfill
in uniaxial compression
The typical stress–strain curves of paste backfill samples
in uniaxial compression are illustrated in Fig. 11a. The
stress–strain behaviour alters with curing time. It can be
observed that the paste backfill samples show an elastic
behaviour in the increasing portion of the stress–strain
plot (50% of the peak load). At the descending portion, the
stress decreases slowly with increasing deformations in the
case of paste backfill samples with 7 and 14 days of curing.
Whereas, the stress level of paste backfill samples decreases
relatively faster with increasing deformations in the case of
samples with 28 and 56 days’ of curing. Definitely, as crack
propagation increases, the load-bearing capacity decreases.
The flatter characteristic of stress–strain curve at early days
of curing reflects comparatively less strength development.
Thus, the strain softening characteristics is observed at the
early days of curing. It is also important to mention that with
increasing curing time, the peak stress increases and peak
strain decreases.
Binder type and dosage has a direct impact on the
stress–strain curve, peak stress, strain and Young’s modu-
lus (E). Figure 11b clearly shows that the peak strength and

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Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389 Page 13 of 18  389
Young’s modulus (E) of paste backfill increases with the
binder content. The variation in stress–strain behaviour with
different binder type and dosage is due to the fact that higher
binder dosage forms more cement hydration products. These
results are similar to the results obtained by Fall et al. 2007.
Moreover, the peak strength and Young’s modulus of paste
backfill are reduced with replacement of OPC by FFS. How-
ever, strength and Young’s modulus of paste backfill samples
increased when OPC was replaced by CFFS instead of FFS
(Table 5). The better strength and stiffness development of
paste backfill samples with OPC-CFFS binder as compared
to paste backfill with OPC-FFS binder is due to the crushed
fine slag (CFFS) grains, acting as filler between the coarser
tailings and cement particles. This connecting effect of
crushed slag particles leads to tightly packing within the
cement matrix and activate the pozzolanic property of slag.
Thus, better strength and young’s modulus of paste backfill
with OPC-CFFS binder are obtained as compared to OPC-
FFS binder-based paste backfill. The maximum value of
Young’s modulus was found to be 730 MPa after 56 days
of curing for the control sample 1(8 wt% OPC). The least
Young’s modulus value for control set 1 (8 wt% binder cat-
egory) and control set 2 (5 wt% binder category) was deter-
mined as 390 MPa and 160 MPa, respectively. Also, the
lowest E value after 56 days of curing for OPC as a sole
binder is determined 480 MPa (4wt% OPC).
The stiffness to strength (E/UCS) ratio is a critical param-
eter to understand the relative strength and stiffness behav-
iour of paste backfill with materials like, soil, clay, concrete
and rock (Berndt et al. 2007). Clays are generally regarded
to have an E/UCS value within the range 250–750, rocks
typically within the range 300–1000, and concrete approxi-
mately 1000 (Table 7). The E/UCS values of paste backfill
material in the present study are within the range 215–466.
Therefore, the studied mixes show E/UCS ratios that fall
within the range of values for clays.
Multiple regression analysis of strength
development
The strength gain of paste backfill is a function of multiple
variables and their coupled interactions. The multivariate
Table 7  Average UCS, stiffness, and E/UCS of various materials.
Modified after Rankine 2005)
Material UCS (MPa) Young’s modulus E/UCS
(MPa)
Steel 200–300 2,00000 667–1000
Concrete 25–32 30,000 1000
Clay 0.025–0.5 2–250 250–750
Paste backfill (pre- 0.23–2.31 50–730 215–466
sent study)
analysis may be remarkable in terms of enhanced under-
standing of the mechanism of strength deviation with diverse
backfill mix configurations. The multivariate analysis is the
statistical method to analyse data considering two or more
dimension whilst outcome depends on the interaction of
input variables (Schneider et al. 2010). The regression model
is produced with parameter estimation, which is the regres-
sion coefficient for every input variable (Permai and Tanty
2018). In the present study, the paste backfill specimens
were prepared by varying the proportion of mill tailings,
OPC, FFS and CFFS. The prepared backfill specimens were
subjected to uniaxial compression testing at different curing
periods. Therefore, to evaluate the alteration in strength with
respect to mix configurations, the multiple regression analy-
sis of up to fifth- order interactions were carried out. The
strength of specimens was considered as output variable.
The input variables such as; weight proportions of mill tail-
ings, OPC, FFS, CFFS and curing days’, were considered as
predictors. The waste chemistry (lime to silica–alumina–iron
oxides ratio as per Eq. 3) of mill tailings and slag was also
considered as sixth predictor in the model to statistically
analyse its influence on the paste backfill strength. The
result of main effect and their interaction effect are shown
in Tables 8 and 9, respectively.
It is perceived from Table 8 that the variable OPC (slope:
0.0188; P value: 0.011) is the most significant variable
towards the strength development of paste backfill. The
proportion of mill tailings and FFS tends to have a nega-
tive impact on the strength gain of paste backfill specimens,
whereas relative proportion of CFFS possesses strength
improving characteristics with coefficient of 0.0116. The
curing period has a positive slope value which shows that
the strength of any given paste backfill mix would increase
significantly with time. The positive coefficient (slope: 1.07;
P value: 0.874) of waste chemistry indicates that the mill
tailings and slag have a favourable chemical composition for
the strength gain of paste backfill mix; however, it is statisti-
cally insignificant due to high p-value. This suggests that a
Table 8  Results of main effects of variables on the strength develop-
ment
Variable Coefficient P value
Main effects
 MT − 0.131 0.25
 OPC 0.0188 0.011**
 FFS − 0.123 0.264
 CFFS 0.0116 0.431
 CD 0.01045 0.040**
 W_CHEM 1.07 0.874
MT mill tailings, CD curing days’, W_CHEM waste chemistry, **P
value < 0.05
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 389   Page 14 of 18 Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389

Table 9  Results of interaction Interaction order Interaction parameters Coefficient P value

effects of variables on the
strength development 2nd order MT*OPC − 0.00071 0.797
interaction MT*FFS − 0.0790 0.005**
MT*CFFS 0.0016 0.953
MT*W_CHEM 0.009 0.959
OPC*FFS − 0.1171 0.000**
OPC*CFFS − 0.0545 0.081
OPC*CD 0.003242 0.000**
OPC*W_CHEM 2.69 0.288
FFS*CD − 0.00033 0.781
FFS*W_CHEM 4.8 0.004**
CFFS*CD 0.00035 0.767
CFFS*W_CHEM 0.6 0.981
CD*W_CHEM − 0.0334 0.507
3rd order MT*OPC*CD 0.000040 0.000**
interaction MT*OPC*CFFS − 0.000559 0.002**
MT*OPC*FFS − 0.000485 0.008**
MT*OPC*W_CHEM 0.02226 0.000**
MT*FFS*CD 0.000003 0.805
MT*FFS*W_CHEM 0.01416 0.092
MT*CFFS*CD 0.000011 0.418
MT*CFFS*W_CHEM 0.02525 0.003**
MT*CD*W_CHEM − 0.000751 0.136
4th order MT*OPC*FFS*CD − 0.000505 0.039**
interaction MT*OPC*FFS*W_CHEM − 0.00093 0.734
MT*OPC*CFFS*CD 0.000125 0.604
MT*OPC*CFFS*W_CHEM − 0.00211 0.443
MT*OPC*CD*W_CHEM 0.000555 0.001**
MT*FFS*CD*W_CHEM 0.000861 0.044**
MT*CFFS*CD*W_CHEM 0.000255 0.546
OPC*FFS*CD*W_CHEM 0.431 0.044**
OPC*CFFS*CD*W_CHEM − 0.118 0.574
5th order MT*OPC*FFS*CD*W_CHEM 0.000007 0.836
interaction MT*OPC*CFFS*CD*W_CHEM 0.000070 0.039**

MT mill tailings, CD curing days’, W_CHEM waste chemistry

**P value < 0.05

better waste chemistry (better lime to silica–alumina–iron
oxides ratio as per Eq. 3) would have a positive effect on
strength development of paste backfill.
The interactions MT*OPC, MT*FFS, and MT*CFFS
show (Table 9) that the addition of OPC/FFS/CFFS in
the paste mix decreases the negative impact of mill tail-
ings (slope − 0.131) on the strength. The slope of MT
towards strength was − 0.131 (Table 8) which further
reached to − 0.0007, − 0.079 and 0.0016 and 0.009 for
interactions of MT with OPC, FFS, CFFS and W_CHEM,
respectively. Among all the second order interactions;
MT*FFS, OPC*FFS, OPC*CD and FFS*W_CHEM were
found to be statistically significant at 5% significance
level. The replacement of OPC with FFS and CFFS has
significantly negative effect on the strength of paste
backfill specimens as it can be observed from the interac-
tions OPC*FFS (slope − 0.1171) and OPC*CFFS (slope
− 0.0545).
The third-order interactions MT*OPC*CD have a posi-
tive slope (0.000040), which shows that the strength of
paste backfill mix with mill tailings and OPC is enhanced
with curing time. The strength of paste backfill was also
observed to be increased with curing time for the interac-
tions MT*FFS*CD (Slope: 0.000003) and MT*CFFS*CD
(Slope: 0.000011). However, the rate of strength gain of
paste backfill with OPC is much higher as compared to
FFS and CFFS. The chemical composition of tailings and
slag significantly affect the strength development as it

13
Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389 Page 15 of 18  389
can be seen from the interactions MT*OPC*W_CHEM,
MT*FFS*W_CHEM and MT*CFFS*W_CHEM.
The comparison between interactions MT*OPC*CD and
MT*OPC*FFS*CD shows that the replacement of OPC by
FFS significantly decreases the slope value from 0.00004
to -0.000505. Whereas, the replacement of OPC by CFFS
increased the slope value to 0.000125, but it is statistically
insignificant (P value: 0.604). The fifth-order interac-
tion MT*OPC*FFS*CD*W_CHEM (slope: 0.000007, P
value: 0.836) and MT*OPC*CFFS*CD*W_CHEM (slope:
0.00007, P value: 0.039) shows that the strength of paste
backfill would be improved in the case of replacing OPC by
CFFS as compared to the paste backfill with OPC replace-
ment by FFS. The associated probability with the interac-
tion MT*OPC*FFS*CD*W_CHEM is 0.836; therefor,e the
result may fluctuate by further addition of datasets. Whereas,
the interaction MT*OPC*CFFS*CD*W_CHEM is statisti-
cally significant as the associated probability is 0.039.
Therefore, based on the multiple regression analysis, it
can be concluded that the strength of paste backfill speci-
mens would decrease with the replacement of FFS and CFFS
in the binder phase as compare to paste backfill with OPC
as sole binder. Also, better strength development of paste
backfill would be achieved with OPC-CFFS binder-based
paste backfill as compared to OPC-FFS binder based paste
backfill.
Economic analysis
Economy is a major concern for every mine operator. It is
worth mentioning that backfilling bears 25% of the total
mining cost, of which 75% is the binder cost when OPC is
used as a sole binder (Hassani et al. 2007). Strength develop-
ment of paste backfill is vital for the stability of backfilled
stopes and it can be complemented by the backfilling cost
to optimise the paste backfill mix. Hence an overall opti-
mization of paste backfill was conducted by considering
the lab determined 28 days UCS and associated cost of the
respective paste backfill mix scenarios. Presently, the study
site paste backfill plant produces 2.188 MT of paste fill per
annum with 8 wt% binder dosage and solid percentage of 77
wt%. The 28 days UCS developed in paste backfill in lab,
prevailing backfilling cost per tonne (3.33 US $) in the mine,
market price of OPC, fuming furnace slag (FFS) and crushed
fuming furnace slag (CFFS) were used to conduct the cost
analysis. The economy index, which is the ratio between
strength and cost (Sharmila and Dhinakaran 2016), for dif-
ferent binder scenarios, was determined. The economy index
for different mix configurations are presented in Table 10.
The economic analysis revealed that the cost of paste
backfill/tonne significantly reduced with replacement of
OPC by FFS and CFFS. Paste backfill with 7 wt% OPC + 1
wt% FFS, 7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% CFFS and 6 wt% OPC + 2
wt% CFFS binders saved 0.64 US $, 0.53 US $ and 1.06
US $ per tonne of backfill, respectively, as compared to the
paste backfill with 8wt% OPC (control 1). Thus the cost of
paste backfill/tonne was reduced by 19.18%, 15.95% and
31.90% for the backfill with 7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% FFS, 7 wt%
OPC + 1 wt% CFFS and 6 wt% OPC + 2 wt% CFFS bind-
ers replacement, respectively. The better savings achieved
in FFS and CFFS replaced paste backfill was due to the
substantial cost difference between OPC (84 US $/tonne),
FFS (1 US $/tonne) and CFFS (15 US $/tonne). The econ-
omy index of paste backfill with 7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% CFFS
binder was found to be better as compared to paste backfill
with 7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% FFS binder. This was due to bet-
ter strength achieved by paste backfill with crushed fuming
furnace slag as compared to the paste backfill with fuming
furnace slag. Based on the lab tests and cost analysis, paste
backfill with 8 wt% OPC, 7 wt% OPC, 6 wt% OPC, 7 wt%
OPC + 1 wt% FFS, 7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% CFFS and 6 wt%
OPC + 2 wt% CFFS binders are found to be the optimum
paste backfill mix.
Conclusion
In this study, experimental investigations were performed to
assess the applicability of slag as partial OPC replacement
for paste backfilling in lead–zinc underground mines. The
following conclusions were drawn from this study:
• The strength development in paste backfill with OPC-
FFS as binder is lower as compare to sole OPC based
paste backfill. This may be due to the coarser particle
size of FFS. The pozzolanic property of FFS does not get
activated at this particle size of FFS as it does not have
adequate reactive surface area. The coarser FFS particles
act only as aggregate replacement of very low quantity in
paste backfill. However, crushing the slag below 75 μm
(80 wt%) improved strength characteristics as compared
to FFS plus OPC based paste backfill.
• Paste mix ­BPF1 (8 wt% OPC), ­BPF2 (7 wt% OPC) and
­BPF3 (6wt% OPC), F ­ FS81 (7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% FFS),
­CFFS81 (7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% CFFS) and C ­ FFS82 (6 wt%
OPC + 2 wt% CFFS) fulfil the 28 days’ strength require-
ment of 1.1 MPa for this study. Thus replacement of OPC
by crushed fuming furnace slag is possible up to 25% of
the total binder (8wt% OPC).
• The paste backfill samples show strain softening char-
acteristics at early days of curing and the peak stress
increases and peak strain decreases with increasing
curing time. The ascending portion of the stress–strain
plot shows elastic behaviour of paste backfill. The stress
decrease rate in the descending portion is slower for the
13
 389  

Table 10  Cost analysis of paste backfill with different binder types and dosages

13
Binder (wt%) OPC Yearly OPC Yearly tentative Yearly tentative OPC cost FFS cost CFFS cost Total Savings/tonne 28 days’ Economy
replacement consumption FFS consumption CFFS consumption (US $/year) (US $/ (US $/year) binder of backfill (US UCS index (UCS/
(wt%) (Tonne) (Tonne) (Tonne) year) cost $) (MPa) cost)
Page 16 of 18

(Million
US $/
year)

8% OPC (Control 0 1,34,781 0 0 11,330879 0 0 11.33 0 2.25 0.20

1)
7% OPC 0 1,17,933 0 0 9,914519 0 0 9.91 0.65 2.18 0.22
6% OPC 0 1,01,086 0 0 8,498159 0 0 8.49 1.29 1.16 0.14
5% OPC (Control 0 84,238 0 0 7,081799 0 0 7.08 1.94 1.08 0.15
2)
4% OPC 0 67,390 0 0 5,665439 0 0 5.66 2.59 0.98 0.17
7% OPC + 1% FFS 12.5 1,17,933 16,848 0 9,914519 16,848 0 9.93 0.64 1.85 0.19
6% OPC + 2% FFS 25 1,01,086 33,695 0 8,498159 33,695 0 8.53 1.28 0.98 0.11
5% OPC + 3% FFS 37.5 84,238 50,543 0 7,081799 50,543 0 7.13 1.92 0.95 0.13
4% OPC + 4% FFS 50 67,390 67,390 0 5,665439 67,390 0 5.73 2.56 1.01 0.18
4% OPC + 1% FFS 20 67,390 16,848 0 5,665439 16,848 0 5.68 0.64 0.84 0.15
3% OPC + 2% FFS 40 50,543 33,695 0 4,249079 33,695 0 4.28 1.28 0.45 0.11
2% OPC + 3% FFS 60 33,695 50,543 0 2,832720 50,543 0 2.88 1.92 0.3 0.10
7% OPC + 1% 12.5 1,17,933 0 16,848 9,914519 0 2,52,714 10.17 0.53 2.23 0.22
CFFS
6% OPC + 2% 25 1,01,086 0 33,695 8,498159 0 5,05,428 9.00 1.06 1.68 0.19
CFFS
5% OPC + 3% 37.5 84,238 0 50,543 7,081799 0 7,58,142 7.84 1.60 1.08 0.14
CFFS
4% OPC + 4% 50 67,390 0 67,390 5,665439 0 1,010,856 6.68 2.13 1.07 0.16
CFFS
4% OPC + 1% 20 67,390 0 16,848 5,665439 0 2,52,714 5.92 0.53 1 0.17
CFFS
Environmental Earth Sciences

3% OPC + 2% 40 50,543 0 33,695 4,249079 0 5,05,428 4.75 1.06 0.87 0.18

CFFS
2% OPC + 3% 60 33,695 0 50,543 2,832720 0 7,58,142 3.59 1.60 0.76 0.21
CFFS

Paste backfill poured into the stopes/annum for the study site: 2.188 million tonne (MT); Cost of backfill/tonne: 3.33 US $; OPC cost/tonne: 84 US $; FFS cost/tonne: 1 US $; CFFS cost/tonne:
(2020) 79:389

15 US $
Environmental Earth Sciences (2020) 79:389 Page 17 of 18  389
paste backfill samples with early days of curing. How-
ever, this decrease rate is faster for paste backfill samples
with 28 and 56 days of curing.
• The cost of paste backfill/tonne was reduced by 19.18,
15.95 and 31.90% for the backfill with 7 wt% OPC + 1
wt% FFS, 7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% CFFS and 6 wt% OPC + 2
wt% CFFS binders, respectively, as compared to the paste
backfill with 8wt% OPC.
• Based on the techno-economic evaluation of paste back-
fill with different binder types and dosages, paste back-
fill with 8 wt% OPC, 7 wt% OPC, 6 wt% OPC, 7 wt%
OPC + 1 wt% FFS, 7 wt% OPC + 1 wt% CFFS and 6 wt%
OPC + 2 wt% CFFS binders are found to be the optimum
paste backfill mix for the study site.
Acknowledgement  This study has been carried out with the finan-
cial support received from Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) and CSIR-
CIMFR (MLP/81/2019-20). The authors express their gratitude to HZL
management for financial support for the study. The authors would also
like to acknowledge Director, CSIR-CIMFR (Dr. P. K. Singh) for his
constant support and guidance for completing this study.
Funding This  ar ticle  was  suppor ted  by  Hindustan Zinc
Limited (HZL) (Grant No: SSP/139/2016-17).
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