Compressive Strength Characteristics of Cemented Tailings Backfill with Alkali-Activated Slag

With the use of glauberite mineral (GM) and sodium hydroxide (SH) alkaline catalysts to stimulate slag powder’s internal cementation activity and incorporate the two fine-grained solid wastes, such as quicklime (Q) and desulfurized ash (DA), a new cementitious material suitable for mine tailings was developed to replace traditional ordinary Portland cement (OPC) for reducing cement-related costs. A series of uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) tests were carried out on cemented tailings backfill (CTB) samples containing different activators. The results showed that (1) the highest UCS values of 14-day and 28-day cured CTB samples were 1.259 MPa and 2.429 MPa, respectively, and the effect of different activator types was in the order of SH > GM > DA > Q and SH > GM > Q > DA; (2) the relationship between UCS and activator dosages followed the function y = ax3 − bx2 + cx − d. Compared with the OPC 32.5 R cemented samples, the minimum strength growth factor was 1.45, and the maximum reached 2.03; (3) the optimal proportion of DA slag formula was 4.5% or 5.0% Q, 19% DA, 2.5% GM, and 0.7% SH. The aforesaid new cementitious materials met the mine’s UCS requirements with a relatively low cost (17.04–17.20 €/ton) and solved the stacking problem of solid wastes on the surface well. Ultimately, this study provides a useful reference for the development of mineral binders.