Abstract

The motivation of this study is to promote sustainability in the construction and mining industries from a research perspective, considering the CO2 emissions associated with cement production and the use of mining waste materials, such as copper tailings, as supplementary cementitious materials. In this study, copper tailings partially replaced cement as received between 0 to 50 wt.%. Mortar and reinforced mortar samples were manufactured for mechanical and corrosion analysis. The mechanical tests revealed that the maximum compressive and flexion strengths were maintained by adding copper tailings, which were delayed for a longer exposure time, possibly due to the hydration reaction. Morphological analysis revealed that the partial cement replacement increased the porosity in the mortar at earlier stages, which was similar for longer exposure time. In addition, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy allowed in-situ monitoring of the mortar's evolution and mortar/steel interface. The impedance response showed that partial cement replacement with 15 wt. % of copper tailings as received can improve steel passivation after prolonged exposure. Therefore, cement replacements can be a suitable solution to produce reinforced mortars.