UTILIZATION OF PHILIPPINE GOLD MINE TAILINGS AS A MATERIAL FOR GEOPOLYMERIZATION

Mining minerals results in a waste material called mine tailings. In the Philippines, these waste materials are considered valueless and are just stored at tailing dams. The increasing demand for gold minerals in the country can cause an increase in the production of these waste materials. This can lead to a shortage of storage facilities. With this, this study used Philippine gold mine tailings as a material for geopolymerization. The process of geopolymerization produces a cementitious material with properties substantially comparable to those of conventional cement. It occurs after an aluminosilicate material reacts with an alkali hydroxide or silicate solution. In this study, gold mine tailings were mixed with the alkaline solution, or the combination of the 10-molar sodium hydroxide solution (10M NaOH) and the Water Glass Solution (WGS), to produce the geopolymer. A total of a four-mix proportion of WGS-to-10M NaOH and Alkaline Solution-to-Mine Tailings (AS-to-MT) was tested in this study. The compressive strength of each mix proportion was compared. Based on the results, the highest compressive strength has a mixed proportion of AS-to-MT ratio of 0.35 and the WGS-to-10M NaOH solution ratio of 2.5. X-Ray Diffraction was also performed to determine the chemical compound present in the gold mine tailings used. The results show that aluminum and silicon compounds are present in the material, hence, making the gold mine tailings viable for geopolymerization.