slurry pumps.
Each thickener has a diameter of 18 m, a total height of 16.6 m, a cone angle of 30°, and a processing capacity of 5000 t/d. It can handle a maximum underflow flow rate of 165 m3/h and a maximum underflow concentration of 72wt%. The system’s dewatering capacity and pump pressure conveying capacity exceed 200 m3/h, and it features a 10 m3 volume mixer with a mixing capacity of 180 m3/h, which is the largest reported horizontal mixer of its kind domestically and internationally. By adopting a liquid level lifting and stabilizing device with independent intellectual property rights, the system achieves homogeneous mixing technology for fine-grained full-tail paste with high liquid level and reversed peripheral flow. The cement silo adopts 2 sets of storage silos, each with a rectangular section and conical bottom structure with a volume of 832 m3, and employs micro powder weighing for measurement. The highly concentrated tailings prepared by the thickener are transported into the mixer by the underflow pump and mixed with cement to produce the full tailings cemented paste filling material, which is then transported to the stope for filling by the pipe with an inner diameter of 175 mm.
Given the challenges presented by the deeply buried ore body, extensive theoretical calculations and verifications were conducted. These led to the bold use of self-flow transport. When the filling concentration reached 72wt% and the yield stress exceeded 100 Pa, this method facilitated the self-flow transportation of paste over a distance exceeding 2000 m. This achievement was made possible by harnessing the combined power of self-weight potential energy and “negative pressure siphon.” Any surplus high-concentration tailings is efficiently transported to the tailings pond through 3 sets of diaphragm pumps (2 in operation and 1 on standby). These pumps have a remarkable transporting capacity of 265 m3/h and a transportation pressure of 7 MPa, facilitating material movement over a distance of approximately 15 km. Importantly, this whole process is remotely controlled from the central control room. Key parameters, including flow rate and concentration, are accurately measured using a nuclear densitometer and Sondar