Physico-Chemical And Mineralogical Characterization Op Mining Wastes Used In Construction

Abstract

Mining wastes from lead and lead-zinc mines of the Bellmunt de Ciurana and Vilaller areas (NE Spain) were characterized physico-chemically and mineralogically to assess the use of different industrial solid wastes in construction and in soil as part of a research program (in progress).

The high level of lead, zinc and occasionally iron sulfides (galena, PbS; sphalerite, ZnS; pyrite, Fe2S), advised against their use as aggregates for concrete production. Nevertheless, the hardness of these materials, due mainly to the presence of the silicated mineral phases (quartz and feldspars), allow their use in road pavements. This study shows that the rock dump wastes of Bellmunt may be used in bituminous mixtures for surface, intermediate layer and basis of flexible road pavements for all types of traffic. The tailing pond wastes cannot be recycled in construction, but present work shows that bulking agents (Vilaller wastes), and fertilizers, amendments for acidic soils or substrates for horticultural crops (Bellmunt tailing pond wastes) have been found to be the best possibilities to recycle these mineral wastes on land.