CONSTRUCTION POTENTIAL OF A MINING BY-PRODUCT

Mining by-products are often used as bulk fill in development projects or placed and revegetated at sites specified by the relevant government agencies. However, being very low in organic matter, re vegetation of these sites can be difficult and expensive. The findings of an ongoing research at La Trobe University, which focuses on investigating the potential of waste/recycled materials to be used for various civil engineering applications, are presented in this paper. The paper concentrates on the use of a by-product from mining operations under Bendigo as concrete aggregates. Its properties are scrutinised viz standard specifications for aggregates for concrete production. Various mix design are proposed using both crushed spoil rock and crushed good quality rock as aggregates. The behaviour of concrete produced with crushed mining by-product and that produced with good quality crushed aggregates is compared in order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing this spoil rock as concrete aggregate. Results from standard tests suggest that the material is suitable for use as an aggregate in concrete.

• INTRODUCTION

• MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS

• EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME

• ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

• CONCLUSIONS

• REFERENCES