Progress and prospects of mining with backfill in metal mines in China

Mining is the foundation of modern industrial development. In the context of the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” era, countries have put forward the development strategy of “adhering to the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.” The ongoing progress and improvement of filling mining technology have provided significant advantages, such as “green mining, safe, efficient, and low-carbon emission,” which is crucial to the comprehensive utilization of mining solid waste, environmental protection, and safety of re-mining. This review paper describes the development history of metal mine filling mining in China and the characteristics of each stage. The excitation mechanism and current research status of producing cementitious materials from blast furnace slag and other industrial wastes are then presented, and the concept of developing cementitious materials for backfill based on the whole solid waste is proposed. The advances in the mechanical characteristics of cemented backfill are elaborated on four typical levels: static mechanics, dynamic mechanics, mechanical influencing factors, and multi-scale mechanics. The working/rheological characteristics of the filling slurry are presented, given the importance of the filling materials conveying process. Finally, the future perspectives of mining with backfill are discussed based on the features of modern filling concepts to provide the necessary theoretical research value for filling mining.