Safety and efficiency benefits from using automated backfill diverter valves on Kirkland Lake Gold Fosterville mine’s paste reticulation systems

As backfill systems become a more common method for managing tailings and enhancing ore recovery, safe efficient methods handling the are adding value mine owners. At Kirkland Lake Gold Fosterville (Victoria, Australia), automated diverter valves were installed at distribution switching points to direct paste intended stopes. The operated remotely from control room, removing human element transition point during diversion. other option making changes in is manual operation where long sweep elbows disconnected piping network reconnected different downstream pipe. This process tedious time consuming, requiring many man hours equipment that not always readily available, resulting much down time. This paper will discuss how using valve place of diversion Gold’s reticulation system delivered dramatic uptime minimised physical safety risks. Safety benefits only eliminated movement components but include localised lockout access, evacuation upstream borehole (and piping) blockage flush water suitable collection area.