Fording Coal is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Limited. The company was founded in 1968 to mine metallurgical coal for export at the Fording River operations in southeast British Columbia.

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 87, No. 979, 1994

J. Rheault and D. Bronkhorst, Williams Operating Corporation, Marathon, Ontario

Backfill practices at the Williams mine have evolved significantly since underground mining began in 1986. The use of conveyors as a means of transporting fill material to slopes has been discontinued in favour of load-haul-dump equipment. The method of adding binder to the fill product has been refined along with the placement technique. Slurry preparation has been fully automated and flyash is now included as a binding agent. Surface preparation of the fill product has evolved substantially with the quarry operation coming into full operation and the construction of permanent crushing, screening, and storage facilities. Company personnel have replaced all contracted labour involved in backfill operations. Some changes have been made to achieve a higher standard of quality control while others were implemented as a matter of cost reduction.

Keywords: Backfill practices, Underground mining, Williams mine, Rock-fill properties.