14th International Symposium May 12-15, 2024. Vancouver, Canada
The 14th of the symposia series, Minefill 2024, was held in Vancouver, Canada from May 12th to 15th. The conference was held in conjunction with CIM
Connect 2024, the annual convention and expo hosted by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. The theme of this conference, Full
Circle: Supporting a holistic mining cycle, reflected the focus and maturity of the backfill industry as it explores its place in the mining cycle and the
opportunities that are created when a larger, holistic view of the mining process is taken.
Technical sessions in this conference included:
• Backfill in the mine waste cycle
• Backfill properties and testing
• Binder alternatives
• Geomechanics
• Operations and production
• Reticulation and placement
• Case studies
The conference opened with a keynote by Russell Evans of Agnico Eagle, entitled 30 Years of Paste Backfill - 1994 to 2024 The 30 year progression from a
“New Type of Backfill” to an Integral Part of a Holistic Mining Strategy. The review of the state of minefill in 2024 continued with a panel discussion entitled
Bringing Minefill Full Circle. Facilitated by mining engineer Kate McLaughlin, the discussion dissected the various roles backfill has assumed thus far and the
potential it holds for future mining endeavors. The esteemed panelists included Cliff Lafleur, Véronique Falmagne, Ryan Veenstra, and Ward Wilson, each
bringing a wealth of operational and technical experience directly and indirectly linked to backfill.
The Symposium was attended by over 250 participants. Over 40 papers were submitted. The range of papers submitted to the conference reflected the
landscape the backfill community was currently negotiating. There was increased focus on alternate binders and backfill constituents, which highlights
challenges operations are facing. There was a continued expansion of the understanding of backfill distribution, production, geomechanics and backfill
properties in response to mine backfill requirements. These technical papers reflected the state of the industry in 2024 and provided a glimpse of where the
next advances in backfill may lead.
The conference proceedings were published by CIM.