This experimental investigation was conducted to research the properties of polypropylene (PP) fiber-reinforced cemented paste backfill (CPB). The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the fiber-reinforced CPB showed a significant improvement with average UCS increase ratios of 141.07%, 57.62% and 63.17% at 3, 7 and 28 days, respectively. The macroscopic failure mode and SEM analysis indicated that fibers prevented the formation of large tensile and shear cracks during the pull-out and pull-off failure modes. A linear fitting function for the UCS at a curing time of 3 days and two polynomial fitting functions for the UCS at curing times of 7 and 28 days were established to characterize the relationship between the UCS of the fiber-reinforced and unreinforced CPB. Moreover, based on composite mechanics, nonlinear models related to the UCS and fiber reinforcement index were obtained. The estimated functions containing the fiber reinforcement index λ, which consists of the fiber content and aspect ratio of fiber, could evaluate the UCS. Furthermore, the fiber reinforcement index λ quantifies the enhancement by the fibers. Both estimation results indicated that the UCS values were estimated accurately at curing times of 3, 7 and 28 days in this study. Additionally, the estimation models could be used to guide the strength design of fiber-reinforced CPB. Besides this, the results showed that fiber-reinforced CPB can be used more widely in mine backfills and meets the requirements of controlled low-strength material (CLSM) for broader applications.

Leadership is a necessary element for ensuring workplace safety. Rather little is known about the role of leadership safety behaviours (LSBs) in the mining industry. Using regression analysis and structural equation modelling analysis, this study examined the cause-and-effect relationships between leadership safety behaviours and safety performance. Data were collected by questionnaires from 305 miners in China. Data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, which identified five main dimensions of LSBs: safety management commitment, safety communication with feedback, safety policy, safety incentives, and safety training; the analysis also identified three main dimensions of safety performance: employee’s safety compliance, safety participation, and safety accidents. The results showed the overall effects of each LSB variable on safety compliance in descending order as: safety training (0.504), safety incentives (0.480), safety communication with feedback (0.377), safety management commitment (0.281), and safety policy (0.110). The overall effects of each LSB variable on safety participation in descending order were: safety training (0.706), safety incentives (0.496), safety management commitment (0.365), and safety policy (0.247). Furthermore, we found that safety management commitment and safety incentives increased employees’ safety behaviours, but this influence was mediated by safety training, safety policy, and safety communication with feedback.

Incidental emotions would lead to accidents by influencing risk perception. However, few works of research further studied how incidental emotions affect risk perception at the neurological level. Before the experimental task, we used video clips for emotion elicitation. Then, the event-related potential (ERP) technique was used to obtain data on the risk perception process. The results showed that: compared to neutral emotion, the participants’ average reaction time was significantly shorter in positive and negative incidental emotion. Under negative incidental emotion, individuals overestimated risk and had a more significant deviation in risk perception; the amplitude of P2 and N2 components increased, and the amplitude of LPP component decreased under negative incidental emotion. Under positive incidental emotion, individuals’ correct-response rate was higher. These findings indicated that incidental emotions affected the mid-term risk analysis stage and the late risk judgment stage of risk perception. In the mid-term risk analysis stage, individuals processed high-risk information with a negativity bias which led to stronger cognitive conflict, while individuals assessed risks more accurately due to a larger attentional span under positive incidental emotions. In the late risk judgment stage, individuals under negative incidental emotion devoted few attentional resources to risk information which led to a risk judgment deviation. In contrast, individuals had a more detailed cognitive process of risk information under positive incidental emotion. On these bases, this paper confirmed the influence of incidental emotions on risk perception and established an emotional information-processing model. This study provided a reference for emotional interventions to facilitate accident prevention.

The risks faced by the mining industry have always been prominent for every walk of life in China. As the direct cause of accidents, individual unsafe behaviors are closely related to their risk perception. So, it is important to explore the factors affecting miners’ risk perception and analyze the influencing mechanisms between these factors and risk perception. The questionnaire survey method was used to collect the data of risk perception from nearly 400 respondents working in metal mines in China. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to analyze and process collected data. The impact of four factors affecting miners’ risk perception was verified, namely: organizational safety atmosphere, organizational trust, knowledge level, and risk communication. Then, regression analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and structural equation model analysis were used to examine the effect of the four influencing factors on miners’ risk perception. The four influencing factors all have a positive impact on miners’ risk perception; knowledge level has the largest explained variation of miners’ risk perception, followed by risk communication. Organizational trust and organizational safety atmosphere have an indirect and positive impact on miners’ risk perception intermediated by knowledge level and risk communication. The results offer four important aspects of mine safety management to help miners establish quick and accurate risk perception, thereby reducing unsafe behaviors and avoiding accidents.

Top stemming is necessary to stop the explosive energy from escaping through the upper part of blast‐holes in cutting blasts of large‐diameter deep‐hole blasting in underground mines. The often‐used single soil stemming frequently leads to material clogging which results in reduction of blasting efficiency. In this paper, a new water‐soil composite stemming is proposed to solve the problem. A series of small‐scale tests were conducted on solid concrete masonry blocks to investigate the effect of top stemming material and stemming length on blasting performance. The experimental results indicated that water stemming was worse at improving the utilization rate of the explosion energy compared with single soil stemming of the same length. Further, the mean fragment size decreased with the increase of stemming length for single water stemming. Three schemes of water‐soil composite stemming were designed and the scheme with soil in the lower part and water filled in bags in the higher part had the best fragmentation. The water‐soil composite stemming was applied in underground stopes, and field results indicated that the newly proposed stemming led to similar rock fragmentation with traditional single soil stemming, but greatly reduced the clogged blast hole ratio, thus effectively improving blasting and mining efficiency.