ABSTRACT: The advantage of rebar and shotcrete composite backfill fences are the ease in construction, high strength and limited footprint within the mine. This paper discusses the critical aspects of design, the strength of the fence and the imposed load of the backfill. Construction of these fences is typically done by embedment and grouting of rebar within the walls, the construction of a rebar lattice, placement of adhering surface, and the spraying of the shotcrete to the desired thickness. The effect of each of these steps to the behavior of the fence is discussed from practical examples. The effect of the placement of backfill from the point of imposed loads on the barricades is investigated. The effect of fill rate, backfill pulp density and fill heights are discussed. The thickness of shotcrete and the depth of embedment of rebar within are discussed
1. INTRODUCTION The composite rebar, shotcrete barricade fence is a common barricade for confining paste backfill within a mined stope [1, 2, 3]. The advantages of this barricade are the limited footprint, that it can be constructed using typical ground control materials at a minesite, and that it is strong in comparison to other barricades [4]. Typically, the composite barricade is used in narrow vein with Good to Fair Rock Mass. Cayeli Mine and Goldcorp’s Red Lake Mine are two examples. The composite fill barricades are now being used in mines where the host rock is heavily altered, and the use of paste is required to provide a competent back; Yukon Zinc Corp’s Wolverine Mine and Newcrest’s Goswong/Kencana Mine are two examples of these operations. Two key design aspects to consider with the use of the composite fill barricade; are the construction of the fill barricade and the imposed load placed on the barricade by the backfill.