Comprehensive Benefit Evaluation of Cemented Paste Backfill in the Mining Industry

With the increasing scrutiny on tailings management and requirements of the ground subsidence control, both the academia and industry are highly advocating the utilization of cemented paste backfill (CPB) in the mining industry. Literature review has shown that there are some studies conducted to evaluate the ecological environment, economic development, and social impact of mining. However, a comprehensive study about the economic benefits, resource benefits, environmental benefits, and social benefits of CPB is still lacking. This study aims to present a comprehensive benefit index system for CPB from four aspects, i.e., economy, resource, environment, and society. Questionnaires from experts and the mining industry using CPB technology were collected, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis. The relationships between economy, resource, environment, and society were analyzed. The results show that resource benefits have the greatest impact on the comprehensive benefit of CPB in the mining industry, followed by environmental, economic, and social benefits. According to relevance ranking, resource benefits are positively correlated with social, environmental, and economic benefits, whereas environmental, resource, and social benefits have correlation with economic benefits in turn. Therefore, resource, environmental, economic, and social benefits in order directly affect the comprehensive benefit of CPB on the basis of the influencing degree. Moreover, resource, environmental, and social benefits indirectly affect the comprehensive benefit of CPB. The research findings of this study would help the mining industry popularize the CPB technology and promote the sustainability and cleaner production of the mining industry.

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