Services

Laboratory

Introduction

Critical to our consulting services is utilising specialised and experienced personnel and suitably equipped laboratories that have a thorough understanding of handling and assessing tailings and backfill materials. Our world leading knowledge and standards compliment our consulting services to investigate and provide the most suitable backfill solution for any phase of the study, from material characterisation through to mix design and detailed geotechnical analysis.

Backfill Testing Services (BTS) opened in 2021 by our Stephen McGrath and BTS manages all MineFill’s testing requirements.

Backfill Testing Services Laboratory

Newcastle, Australia

Our expertise spans the full spectrum of backfill types, including:

Unconsolidated fill
Paste backfill
Cemented aggregate fill (CAF)
Cemented rock fill (CRF)
Cemented hydraulic fill (CHF)

Our services include:

Material classification tests such as particle sizing, specific gravity, moisture content, pH, mineralogy (QXRD) and water quality and cement testing
Rheology testing and material assessment
Static yield using vane technique
Shear Viscosity using HAAKE VTiQ Viscometer
Conical slump, Boger (cylindrical) slump and Warman slump (pumping)
Dewatering testing – Filtration and Thickening
Flocculation screening, consolidation and settling tests
Thickened tailings transportation assessment
Uniaxial Compression Strength (UCS) test
Desliming by way of cyclone classification
Permeability testing
Surface tailings disposal testing
Triaxial testing – Consolidated Drained (CD), Consolidated Undrained (CU), Unconsolidated and Undrained (UU)
Flexural testing and advanced geotechnical testing

Opened in 2021 by our Stephen McGrath. Backfill testing services specialises in mine backfill covering testing covering all types of backfill, including:

Paste backfill
Cemented aggregate fill (CAF)
Cemented rock fill (CRF)
Cemented hydraulic fill (CHF)

Our services include:

Material classification tests such as particle sizing, specific gravity, moisture content, pH, mineralogy (QXRD) and water quality and cement testing
Rheology testing and material assessment
Static yield using vane technique
Shear Viscosity using HAAKE VTiQ Viscometer
Conical slump, Boger (cylindrical) slump and Warman slump (pumping)
Dewatering testing – Filtration and Thickening
Flocculation screening, consolidation and settling tests
Thickened tailings transportation assessment
Uniaxial Compression Strength (UCS) test
Desliming by way of cyclone classification
Permeability testing
Surface tailings disposal testing
Triaxial testing – Consolidated Drained (CD), Consolidated Undrained (CU), Unconsolidated and Undrained (UU)
Flexural testing and advanced geotechnical testing

Mineral and Mine Backfill Technologies Laboratory

Belgrade, Serbia

Our new European laboratory opened in late 2020. This laboratory primarily services clients in Europe, Africa, Asia and Russia. Our services include:

Basic classification tests such as particle sizing and specific gravity
Mineralogy and clay mineralogy by XRD and XRF
Cyclone classification and desliming
Permeability
Paste rheology with HAAKE iQ rheometer (Yield Stress and Viscosity)
Paste slump measurements with ASTM slump cone
Paste slump measurements with a Boger cylinder
Paste bleed testing
Batching and testing of 2×4 or 3×6 paste cylinders in accordance with ASTM C39
Cement quality testing and vicat curing tests
Water quality testing including pH, conductivity and chemistry

Lafarge Concrete Testing Laboratory

Seattle, USA

Under an agreement with Lafarge Holcim, MineFill Services is able to offer a complete suite of backfill testing services aimed at cemented rockfills and paste fills. Our services include:

Cemented rockfill aggregate grading
Batching and testing of 6×12 CRF cylinders in accordance with ASTM C39
Paste rheology with HAAKE iQ rheometer (Yield Stress and Viscosity)
Paste slump measurements with ASTM slump cone
Paste slump measurements with a Boger cylinder
Paste bleed testing
Batching and testing of 2×4 or 3×6 paste cylinders in accordance with ASTM C39