Studies on Gold Ore Tailings as Partial

River sand is becoming scarce and meeting the demand of fine aggregates in the construction industry is becoming a challenging task. In this investigation an attempt is made to utilize gold ore tailings as a partial substitute for river sand in producing concrete. River sand is replaced with 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% gold ore tailings and the resulting fine aggregates were used in concrete mix and it is compared with conventional concrete. Mix proportions for M20 concrete were obtained for five mixes as per guidelines given in IS: 10262-2009. Workability, compressive strength and flexural strength are reported. The strengths were obtained at the ages of 3, 7 and 28 days. Compressive and flexural strength increased marginally from 5% to 15% replacement. There is a slight decrease in the corresponding compressive and flexural strengths at 20% replacement. Good correlation was observed between compressive strength and flexural strength. It was observed that the addition of gold ore tailings that would replace the fine material at particular proportion has displayed an enhancing effect on mechanical properties of concrete. This investigation proves that gold ore tailings can be used as a partial substitute for river sand in preparing concrete.