UTILIZATION OF IRON ORE TAILINGS IN STRUCTURAL LAYERS OF PAVEMENTS

Abstract

Mariana’s dam collapse, in 2015, and Brumadinho’s, in 2019, puts the dam disposal method in a questionable position. The reuse and recycle of mining tailings are alternatives that could reduce the environmental impact related to its destination, and, also, to promote a sustainable development. Pavements constructions requires a high amount of materials on its structural layers. The incorporation of mining tailings in pavement layers, such as base, subbase and subgrade, have the potential to reduce the natural resources consumption, to promote a new destination to the mining tailings, and, possibly, to reduce the costs related to pavement construction. For a good pavement performance, each layer must attend the requirements established by the technical specification, and, therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the behavior of these mixtures, verifying if those requirements are attended. This article aims to evaluate soil cement mixtures with different proportions of soil and iron ore tailings. The results show that soil cement mixtures with iron ore tailings can be an excellent alternative as a pavement material.