Status and prospects of paste technology in China

Paste technology can effectively solve the environmental and safety issues caused by mining and is a key technology toward realizing green mining. In the recent years, scientific progress has accelerated the pace of intelligent control and the precise preparation and personalized filling of paste technology. Thereby, the research level of paste technology in China has risen. In this paper, the basic concepts and characteristics of paste technology were introduced and the development process of paste technology in China was statistically analyzed. Additionally, the latest research progress in thickening dewatering technology with applications to unclassified tailings, pipeline transportation technology of structure flow, multi-field influence mechanism in stopes, development of new materials, and the construction of a paste engineering laboratory, was systematically analyzed. Furthermore, the practical effects of paste technology in underground backfill and surface deposition were introduced. In the future, paste technology will break through via digitization and intelligence, and realize the adaptive control of the concentration, precision, and preparation of paste, in addition to personalized stope fillings, and the 3D and modular design and assembly of a system, and will thereby lead the mining industry in China toward green development.