Stabilized Manganese-Ore Tailings Blocks

Abstract

Stabilized Manganese-Ore Tailings Blocks Manufacturers have compromised its quality mainly due to the quality and cost of the materials used. Iron ore tailings (IOT) are waste material obtainable from the iron smelting process. The study tests the suitability of IOT in partially replacing natural sand in the making of Sand-Crete Blocks (SCB). IOT has great potential as a replacement for fine aggregate in sandcrete block production.

The common practice of handling the tailings is to store them in tailing dams or as stockpiles near mine sites. Using tailings in construction and construction projects, which can consume a large volume of waste, has not been extensively explored so far. In addition, the understanding of the use of tailings based on chemical composition has very limited investigation.

It was found that the compressive strength of the geopolymer bricks produced from iron ore tailings could be as high as 50.35 MPa. This is either superior or similar to conventional bricks ‘ international standard specifications. In addition, the new bricks will be more economical than conventional bricks with a potential cost reduction of 36.8 percent.

In this study, in a laboratory scale investigation using a model test tank, iron ore mine tailings from Western Australia (WA) were used as structural fill material. The goal was to replace conventional earthfilling materials such as local Perth soil with iron ore mine tailings. The load-bearing pressure for both surface and embedded bases was investigated with its corresponding settlements for the tailings bed at variable relative densities. The results for the tailings of iron ore mine were compared with the results of a similar study using local Perth soil.

Conclusion

The following conclusions can be drawn from the results obtained from the experimental work carried out.
1. The stabilized blocks of manganese ore tailings show an increasing trend in the erosion resistance with the increase in the curing period and stabilizer percentage.
2. The stabilized blocks of manganese ore tailings show a decrease in absorption with the increased stabilizer percentage.
3. The ratio of wet to dry compressive strengths lies between 0.40 and 0.50