This work package addresses the issues related to two types of geomaterials with similar characteristics: high water content and presence of pollutants that could bu used to construct earth structures (embankment, dam, tailings cover and slopes, etc.).
- Mining generates mainly two main types of residues: waste rock and tailings. Waste rock is the material that lacks economic amounts of mineral and is removed to access the ore, while tailings are finely ground material that has been processed in the mill. Waste rock occurs in the particle size of gravel to bolder while tailings are a fine grained material (silty sand) which is generated as slurry
- A large amount of loose sediments is produced within the port industry, through dredging activities. In fact ports construction or maintenance usually requires large dredging activities. Specific seabed depths need indeed to be guaranteed to provide the minimum vessels draft, allowing them to access the port quays. This is particularly true if we consider the important role played by maritime trade at international level, with the direct consequence of a constant increase in vessels dimensions, requiring deeper and deeper seabeds and larger channels.
To be able to use these materials, it is necessary to treat them to meet technical requirements (O2 diffusion, permeability, leaching, bearing capacity, etc.), and to demonstrate the durability of the improvement over time. The expected impacts of the GeoStab netwok within that field are:
- Develop method to reduce the consumption of virgin material for i) management of hazardous materials and ii) construction of infrastructure
- Safer management of potentially hazardous materials
- Understanding of aging (weathering and other degradation processes) that affect the properties of the materials used (stabilised, solidified materials)
- Development of methods for mixing and compacting fin grained materials
- Development of dewatering methods