The Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation SLAG RECLAMATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract: A plan of action is proposed to develop uses of non-ferrous slag and production of certain industrial materials from this waste material. A review of chemistry of non-ferrous slags suggested that it can be reprocessed to impart "cementitious " properties and furthermore an advantage could be taken of their latent "pozzolonaic " properties to test several potential applications such as- clinker ingredient, asphalt concrete additive, cemented mine backfill and binder for base stabilization. The authors note that in the last century blast furnace slag was considered as a "waste " product whose stocks grew at an alarming rate due to decades of accumulation and iron producers had to develop uses of this material to avoid a potentially catastrophic environmental situation. Non-ferrous slag producers could emulate this example set by the iron producers who successfully converted a "waste " into a "byproduct". Environmental concerns of the new millennium demand that the industry should find ways and means of depleting the ever-growing stockpiles of non-ferrous slag. The authors conclude that serious considerations from environmental and economic fronts favor reclamation of old slag dumps as well as processing of new non-ferrous slag as a viable alternative to the existing dumping practice. 1