Stabilised mixed colliery spoil in land reclamation

Abstract

The reworking of colliery tips to extract coal very often accompanies the removal or regrading of tips as part of land reclamation schemes. The reject resulting from such a coal recovery process may be utilised for landfill. Disposal of tailings from the recovery process may be achieved by mixing them with the coarser reject prior to the mixed discard being placed as landfill. Because of its high moisture content this mixture presents problems for compaction, which may be alleviated by the addition of small quantities of cement. The geotechnical properties of mixed colliery spoil stabilised using cement are investigated. Conclusions regarding the acceptability of the stabilised mixture for use in landfill are made.