Preparation of Concrete using Gold Mine Waste

Published on 18 May 2022. Written by Vinay Raj

The Rapid increase in urbanisation and industrialisation lead to the construction of huge buildings and factories. So, the usage of concrete is also increased. As concrete is made of the limestone which is a natural resource, it is exhausted by extreme usage.

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For this issue, researchers are working for the partial replacement of cement and fine and coarse aggregate that will fulfil the strength of the concrete without the native materials. Even the fine and coarse aggregates are becoming scarce due to this excessive usage. The usage of cement also affects the environment by the emission of carbon and heat this is due to the hydration process of cement.

Crushed black stones are a primary waste product from Gold mines which also affects the environment. This waste is a combination of dust and stone chips from parent rock of the ore and the properties of the waste directly depends upon the composition of the parent rock. The waste that is generated from the goldmines does not withstand the vegetation and it will release the fine particles into the atmosphere causing air pollution. Hence, it is essential to find some innovative way to use this Gold Mine waste.

This gold mine waste can be used in the construction industry as a substitute for the coarse aggregate in making concrete.

Requirements:

Cement, Coarse and Fine aggregate.

Knowledge of Mix design.

The need for apparatus such as CTM, slump cone etc... (Concrete Laboratory can be used).

Project Implementation:

1. Make mix design for any mix (ex. M25, for mix design, refer IS 10262).
2. Find the quantities of fine and coarse aggregate, water and cement.
3. Replace the quantity of fine aggregate with Gold mine waste.
4. Make specimen of 100mm and test it on 7^th day, 14^th day and 28^th
5. Replace the quantity of coarse aggregate with Gold mine waste
6. Make specimen of 100mm and test it on 7^th day, 14^th day and 28^th day
7. Iterate the percentage of the demolished waste until you get optimum compressive strength.
8. Compare the compressive strength between natural aggregate concrete and recycled aggregate concrete.
9. Choose and report the optimum usage value of gold mine waste in the concrete mix.

Software Requirements:

• If you need to plot the graph for the values you can use software like MS-Excel, Origin Pro etc…

Advantages:

• We are using the gold mine waste which is a waste to the environment, so no natural resources are used as raw materials.
• The gold mine waste can be more resistant to chloride attack.
• More economical than a traditional mix as we are using the waste from gold mines.

Conclusion:

There is a scope for this development of the concrete by replacing with the fine and coarse aggregate because the world is running out of the natural resources.

Kit required to develop Preparation of Concrete using Gold Mine Waste:

• NA

Technologies you will learn by working on Preparation of Concrete using Gold Mine Waste:

• Cement
• Aggregates
• Reusing Waste

Any Questions?