TITLE:
Utilizing Mine Tailings as Substitute Construction Material: The Use of Waste Materials in Roller Compacted Concrete
AUTHORS:
Renato Guiao Gopez
KEYWORDS:
Mine Tailings, Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC), Waste Material, Compressive Strength, Durability
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.2 No.12,
December
10,
2015
ABSTRACT: Mine tailings (MT) have been used in previous studies as substitute
construction material to recycle waste products, especially in hollow blocks
and bricks production and as masonry mortar. This study investigated the use of
Philex copper-gold mine tailings (PCGMT) in roller compacted concrete (RCC) production,
a mining waste material consisting of finely grinded siliceous particles was obtained
from Tailings Pond number 2 (TP2) of a Philippine copper and gold mining
company. A comprehensive experimental program was conducted to investigate the
comparative compressive strength of RCC containing Porac sand (RCCPS) and RCC
with copper-gold mine tailings (RCCCGMT), and the durability of RCC with
copper-gold mine tailings and fly-ash (RCCCGMTFA). Varying mixtures of RCCPS
and RCCCGMT with very low, low, medium, and high cement contents were casted
and tested. The compressive strength attained at 28 days by RCCPS and RCCCGMT
ranges from 17 to 37 Mega Pascal (MPa) and 17 to 28 Mpa, respectively. The
obtained values indicate that the latter requires greater amount of cement and
the mixtures with compressive strength values greater than 25 Mpa are
acceptable for concrete pavement use. The durability of RCCCGMTFA with medium
cement content was evaluated by subjecting the specimens to an alternate
wetting and drying cycles. After 15 cycles, a remaining strength of 18.7 MPa
was obtained which indicated that it could endure stresses due to weather
changes in the Philippines. Results show that PCGMT in TP2 are viable sand or
fine aggregates substitute in RCC.