Pipe wear in paste backfill mining operations represents a great cost to mining companies. The replacement of prematurely worn pipes results in the shut down of the entire paste system. Abrasion testing performed on various pipe lining samples yielded both quantitative and qualitative data. Both standard and non-standard methods were explored during testing. The pipe materials are ranked by their relative wear resistance as well as energy per unit mass loss, The latter may allow for better prediction of pipe wear, this in turn could prove worthwhile when scheduling maintenance downtime for such a system where cost savings would be beneficial. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.