Fabrication of Baking-Free Bricks Using Gold Tailings and Cemented Materials with Low Alkalinity

The purpose of this paper was using gold mine tailings and cemented materials with low alkalinity to fabricate baking-free bricks.The obtained baking-free brick samples were evaluated by unconfined compressive strength(UCS),water absorption percentage,freezing-thawing cycle,and drying-wetting cycle.The microstructures of the baking-free brick samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction(XRD)and scanning electron microscope(SEM)techniques.The baking-free brick specimens cured for 28 days with the addition of 10%mixing water consumption and 1:6 cement/tailing ratio tended to obtain favorable comprehensive properties such as a high compressive strength of 15.15 MPa,a low water absorption percentage of 11.8%,excellent freezing-thawing resistance with a 8.9%UCS loss rate after 15 freezing-thawing cycles and good drying-wetting resistance with a 11%UCS loss rate after 10 drying-wetting cycles.The XRD and SEM test results verified that different kinds of hydrate products including C-S-H and C-S-A-H gels,and ettringite were produced during hydration process,which were responsible for good physical,mechanical properties,and durability of the obtained baking-free bricks.Therefore,the experimental results showed that it was practical and reasonable to utilize the homemade cementitious materials in our laboratory to stabilize the gold tailings for production of baking-free bricks,which still met the requirements of major regional construction standards in some countries.

Utilization of Low-Alkalinity Cementitious Materials in Cemented Paste Backfill of Gold Mine Tailings

The purpose of this paper was to explore the possility of using low alkalinity cementitious materials as binders,in which ground blast furnace slag and fly ash acted as a partial replacement of ordinary Portland cement,and CaSO_(4),Na_(2)SO_(4),and CaO were used as a sulfate activator and alkali activated additives,to solidify gold mine tail-ings for preparation of a green,inexpensive cemented paste backill(CPB).For this target,the effects of cement/tailings ratio,superplasticizer dosage,solid content,tailings fineness on the mechanical properties of the CPB were inves tigated.Additionally,the hydration mechanism of the CPB was analyzed based on X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy results.The results showed that the fuidity of the CPB slurry could be improved by adding polycarboxylic acid superplasticizer.The unconfined compressive strength(UCS)of the CPB specimens was increased with the increase of cement/tailings ratio and solid content.Under the same experi-mental conditions,the 28 d UCS of the CPB specimens was 3.8-4.9 times higher than that of ordinary Portland cement.The softening coefficient of the CPB specimens was increased with the increasing cement/tailings ratio,ranging from 0.83 to 0.92.The shrinkage rate of the CPB specimens was decreased from 0.70%to 0.54%with the increase of cement/tailings ratio from 1:12 to 1:4 The UCS of the full tailings CPB was the highest,followed by the fine tailings CPB specimens,and the UCS of the coarse tailings CPB specimens was the lowest.The low alka-linity binder was proved to be a promising material to improve the engineering performances of the CPB.The optimal mixing ratio is 1:6 cement/tailings ratio,0.15 wt% superplastizer dosage,and 70 wt%solid content.Pre-pared by this mixing ratio,the UCS values of the CPB after 3,7,and 28 d curing ages reached 1.85,5.87,and 9.16 MPa,respectively,which were suitable as CPB for the Zhaoyuan gold mine in terms of strength requirements.