Use of mine spoils from Teruel coal mining district (NE, Spain)

Abstract

Coal mine restoration projects increase public perception of mining companies. Spain has relatively few examples of completed opencast mine rehabilitation projects. This study seeks to obtain the use of mine spoils from coal mines in Teruel. The studied mine spoils may be used as raw material for the Spanish ceramic industry, located in the provinces of Castellon, Valencia and Teruel. This study specifically discusses the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of the Lower Cretaceous materials from coal deposits in Estercuel basin, around Teruel and Castellon in Spain. These provinces have a large ceramic industry. A characterization of mine spoils from coal deposits has been carried out. This characterization is based on the data of both mineral and chemical analysis. The mineralogical characterization was complemented with SEM/EDAX. The study of the chemical composition allows the evaluation of the applicability of the studied mine spoils to the following industries: refractory, fine clay, red clay for pavement and coating, and heavy clay. The clay used for refractory industry has the highest compositional demand. The positive results obtained on this set of preliminary tests lead us to envisage new research programs, focusing on testing these mine spoils on a semi-industrial scale.