Documented underground fill failures have resulted because of the lack
of adequate knowledge concerning fill strength and other physical par
ameters, as well as to a lack of consistent quality of fill materials
being used by operators. On the basis of literature review and corresp
ondence with backfill operators at 18 mines throughout the province of
Ontario, non-systematic quality control procedures have been shown to
exist, both within different levels of single operations and between
separate mining operations, which act to provide inferior engineered f
ill materials and erratic application response in situ. Assessment of
existing procedures set by mine operators for determining backfill phy
sical parameters, and recommendations of optimum fill material testing
and manufacturing guidelines are presented in this paper A series of
standard fill characterization test procedures are recommended to prov
ide substantial, though not comprehensive, fill behaviour review The p
urpose of these recommendations is to propose industry standards for b
ackfill quality review. Data acquired could be utilize for fill design
functions and as a means of comparing fill quality parameters between
sites in a regular and more systematic fashion than is presently done
.