Reuse of mining waste into innovative alkali-activated-based materials for road pavement applications

Based on the initial results obtained in the research program REMINE (H2020 RISE-Marie Curie Action) in progress, authors discuss the potential use of Panasqueira mine waste aggregates and fillers in the production of construction materials for transportation infrastructures. An estimate of the economic and social impact that this form of recycling could have on the local communities and on the perspective of other mining activities in Portugal and Europe is given. The main goals of the project are to explore materials design methods of alkali-activated composites from mining/quarrying wastes based on the demanding requirement of rheology to fit for various processing techniques and applications. The development of artificial aggregates through alkali-activation of mining waste presents itself as a viable technical solution to compete with other commonly adopted materials and may lead to the manufacturing of less porous and harder aggregates for the production of most of the road paving materials.