Volume 35, N. 3, September-December 2012 | DOWNLOAD PDF(20 downloads)
Abstract
The quartzite found in rock formations in the Southwestern Minas Gerais - Brazil has been, along the years, explored and commercialized as “coating stone”. The quantity of waste coming from the processing and exploration process, however, is superior to 90% from the extracted product in most of the mining sites, determining a serious environmental passive. This work presents results which can motivate the alternative use of the materials that are dumped on piles of waste. The research involved a petrographic analysis of quartzite occurring in the principal mines of the region; evaluation of aggregates produced in two kinds of crushers; evaluation of the physical and mechanical properties of the rock and evaluation of the physical and mechanical properties of the concrete manufactured with the quartzite aggregate. The results of the technological tests carried out on the rock material were satisfactory and meet all the specifications for the use in concrete. The samples of concrete prepared with the quartzite aggregate presented results of strength similar to the ones manufactured with the aggregate which are used commercially in the region today.
