Pornillos, EU 2009, 'Paste Fill Plant Designs for Underground Mines — A Comparison of Batch Process and Continuous Process', in R Jewell, AB Fourie, S Barrera & J Wiertz (eds), Paste 2009: Proceedings of the Twelfth International Seminar on Paste and Thickened Tailings, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 364-374, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/963_40
(https://papers.acg.uwa.edu.au/p/963_40_Pornillos/)
Abstract: Design of any paste fill plant is driven by factors such as tailings material property, compressive strength 
required of the backfill, location of the plant with respect to targeted stopes, available static heads and 
horizontal distances between the plant and current and future mine workings. A key driver has to do with 
versatility of the plant, its capability to produce cemented pastes with a range of slumps and UCS strengths 
and deliver to the farthest stopes of the mine.  
Two types of paste plant designs are generally available, the batch process and the continuous process. Both 
designs are proven in plants around the world delivering the recipe mix required by mine planning, 
employing either the gravity mode or the pumped mode or combination of both modes of transport.  
Successful transport of paste fills through the elaborate system of boreholes and pipelines is very dependent 
on the quality of the paste: a mixture of tailings, cement binder and water components uniformly mixed, free 
of lumps and at the specified slump.  
This paper describes the attributes in the two designs for the production of a three-component recipe, and 
then compares key differences between the two, equally capable of producing quality cemented pastes for 
mine backfill. It also illustrates process flow schematics, underground distribution, major equipment, plant 
layout, instrumentation and automation. The comparison is based on plants operating in Peru.