Utilization of Abandoned Mine Soil in Making Bricks to Be Used for Construction Activity

Mining is a process of extraction of valuable minerals or geological substances from the earth; however, mining degrades the ecosystem. Earlier studies have discovered that about 10-15% of the ore mined is not utilized and discarded due to lack of cost-effective extraction technology for low graded ore in India. These soils cause environmental degradation as they do not support the growth of vegetation. Thus, the land becomes abandoned and fits for nothing. These soils have created an unsolved problem in mining industries. Bringing a solution to this issue is a challenging task. And it is necessary due to the presence of heavy metals in them. Concomitantly, there is a substantial demand for the construction materials. Due to increase in the population the need for shelter is increasing day by day. So, it is imperious to use these mining soils in building materials such as bricks, concrete blocks and other products which are of high value in day-to-day life. In the present study we attempt to prepare non modular bricks by using iron tailings or soils and clay soil. Here in this study we prepared different bricks varying their composition with respect to percentage of mine waste viz... 0,20,40,60,80, 100.The bricks made up 20%, 40%, 60% of mine soil replaced with the regular clay soil, attained compressive strength of 10.07MPa, 7.11MPa, 3.95MPa respectively with a water absorption of 14.57%, 15.61%, 18.44% respectively. So, mined soil which is unfertile and useless otherwise can answer sustainability by going for Brick making. Keywords: Mine soil, Bricks, compressive strength, water absorption