Disposal of mine tailings via geopolymerization

From daily life to infrastructure and national defense construction, mining has been key in human history. However, within their vigorous development process, mining activities are also result in many negative impacts on both the environment and human health. Mine tailings are among the most threatening byproducts of ore processing. Luckily, they can be recycled through various approaches, such as via the promising technique of geopolymerization, converting waste into value. This paper reviews some of the recent efforts in this direction, focusing on the following aspects: geopolymer production using mine tailings as a single precursor; feasibility of the improvement, through supplementary materials incorporation; pretreatments (including mechanical activation, calcination, and alkali roasting) to enhance the reactivity of the mine tailings and the resulting geopolymer. Preparation of geopolymers using mine tailings as a single precursor normally presented lower compressive strength; adding supplementary materials seemed to show more noticeable effective on the strength development than pretreatment of mine tailings. •Geopolymerization is a promising technique for mine tailings disposal.•Lower strength was noticed using mine tailings as a single precursor.•Pretreatment could effectively enhance the reactivity of mine tailings.•Novel technologies are needed for geopolymers production from mine tailings.