ABSTRACT
Newmont Goldcorp’s Tanami Operations consists of the Dead Bullock Soak underground mine (DBS) and the Granites Processing Plant. DBS is currently undergoing an expansion which has created a surplus of underground (UG) waste rock. In order to deal with this surplus of waste rock a paste-waste project was initiated. The goal of this project was to develop and implement a design methodology of maximizing waste rock disposal by depositing the waste rock in primary stopes (usually only filled with 100% cemented paste backfill [CPB]). This paper presents the details of how the design methodology was developed. This includes an analysis of rock chute placement, waste rock versus CPB fill rates, and backfill strength design. Finally, the paper also presents a case study of a paste-waste stope. This study includes an economic analysis of paste-waste, highlighting the importance of paste-waste to DBS in the future.
