Tin Tailings an Industrial Waste : As Refractory Materials

The Tin Ore obtained from the mine site is beneficiated into Tin concentrate, middling and Tin tailings. Tin tailings are collected as a waste from the process; this waste consists of about 25% of the total weight of Ore. The Tin tailings are disposed off in a secluded area and become wasted along river banks and farm lands or in mined out holes or they are poured on the top of slopes. Based on economics as well as environmental related issues, enormous efforts have been directed worldwide towards tin tailings management issues. Different avenues of tin tailings utilization are more or less known but none of them have so far proved to be economically viable or commercially feasible. Until now, there is no work on the economic value of this waste for industrials application. The author looks at possibility of using these industrial wastes from the mineral processing industry for the production of refractory materials. The author concluded that this industrial waste has refractory properties that can be compared favouraly with Indian fire clay refractory. Hence, this waste can be employed in refractory bricks production for furnace lining.