Use of marine mineral tailings for aggregate and agricultural applications

The disposal of tailings from a marine mining operation could be its greatest environmental problem Recent work at the University of Hawaii has shown that manganese tailings can be used for a wide range of construction applications. For large tailings volume use however, agriculture and aggregate utilization offer the best potential, Tailings were used in an agriforestry experiment growing Koa, a native Hawaiian hardwood and as fine grained aggregate in concrete. The results in both cases were positive and are presented in this paper. The tailings stimulated the growth of Koa In comparison to strict controls, The tailings added useful properties to the concrete including reducing porosity and increasing strength, The manganese tailings may also give the concrete some resistance to biofouling.