Characterization of copper tailings in Murgul Copper Plant, Turkey, and its utilization potential in cement mortar...

Due to the increasing demand for copper day by day, copper tailings (CT) are the wastes that mining and human-induced activities caused have become a problem all over the world due to the increasing demand for copper. This study evaluates the effect of using CT together with nano-silica (NS) and micro-silica (MS) in mortars as a partial substitution for cement on mechanical strength properties. Physical, morphological, chemical, and mineralogical thermogravimetric analyses of CT have been made. In addition, heavy metal concentrations were determined. The mechanical features of the mortars produced by replacing the weight with different proportions of (5%, 10%, 15%) CT and 2% NS and 10% MS cement were determined. As a result, it has been observed that the sum of SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Fe₂O₃ of the CT, which has a mostly crystalline structure, is 91.40% and its ignition loss is 4.04%. An improvement in compressive strength (compared to the reference mixture) was observed with the use of 5% CT. Up to 10% of CT has provided standard compressive strength values in both NS and MS combinations.