Limitation of Environmental Impact by Reuse of Waste Materials (Algeria)

Abstract

The accumulation of mine tailings causes disposal problems, environmental pollution, and financial issues when governments impose taxes and levies or land supply problems emerge. In Algeria, an important amount of wastes, principally issued from mining operations is not reused, was led to serious ecological and environmental impacts. In this work, an investigation was carried out on the waste materials of Boukhadra mine in Tebessa, Algeria, to find out their suitability for use in building and road construction. Three types of waste materials, specifically limestone, marl, and iron ore wastes, were primarily tested. It showed that limestone waste presented more accommodating properties based on physicomechanical tests, for what it could be taken as a potential material as an aggregate in building construction and unpaved roads. However, it still requires improvement of mechanical properties such as cohesion and bearing capacity by addition cementing agents to become more appropriate for the entire pavement layers. It is also shown that the limestone waste has more appropriate material to be directed to an outlet for recycling.