Cement and fly ash stabilised gold mine tailings for the development of new material

Abstract

Abstract: More than 500 gold tailings and a number of fly ash dumps exist in South Africa. These waste material contribute significantly to air, water and soil pollution. In this study gold mine tailings and fly ash which are readily available and result into environmental pollution were used to produce new building/construction material. The tailings were stabilised with cement and fly ash. Up to 20% of cement was incorporated in the mix design. The incorporation of 20% cement resulted into significant unconfined compressive strength (UCS) improvement of 3.89 MPa and 4.36 MPa at 56 and 90 days of curing, respectively. The strength development in fly ash and cement modified tailings was influenced by the pozzolanic and hydration reaction. The strength developed is applicable for the materials to be used for load bearing. The unconfined compressive strength of the developed specimen the composites met the minimum SANS 2001-CM1:2007 for hallow bricks to be used as masonry bricks