The mining industry generates a substantial amount of waste materials, including tailings and waste rocks, which, if not managed correctly, pose threats to the environment and public health due to their long-term accumulation and disposal. Simultaneously, the construction sector consumes important amounts of natural resources like water and rocks. However, research shows that inert mining waste can serve as a substitute for conventional raw materials in construction, particularly in concrete. This review focuses on using mining waste as an alternative to concrete technology to promote cleaner practices in construction and circular economy in mining. Mining waste, with its physical characteristics and chemical composition, can function as diverse components in concrete, such as sand, aggregates, and binders. This article assesses these properties and explores their incorporation into concrete production, aiming to stimulate further research and development, foster environmentally responsible approaches, and underline the direct link to reaching SDGs to achieve sustainability in the construction industry.

Phosphate waste rock (PWR) is gaining attention as a potential alternative aggregate for concrete. Its valorization could reduce the environmental impacts of quarrying natural resources and stockpiling phosphate mining waste. This study comprehensively investigated the properties of fine and coarse aggregates produced from three rock types selected from PWR in Morocco: Flint, Phosflint, and Dolomite. A range of techniques was used to study their characteristics, including microstructural observations up to the microscale and X-ray computed tomography (X-CT), mineralogical and chemical compositions, physical and geotechnical properties such as Los Angeles (LA), micro-Deval (M_DE), flexural strength, real dry density, and total porosity. The results showed that the coarse fractions of Flint, Phosflint, and Dolomite are code A or B of NF P 18-545 and exhibit good shape, density, and water absorption properties. Flint aggregates had the highest wear and fragmentation resistance with the lowest and finest porosity. They contained mainly quartz but also small proportions of Dolomite and fluorapatite. Phosflint aggregates had high resistance, shown by code A in LA and M_DE values, and flexural strength equal to 17.1 MPa. They contained phosphate microfacies with a Ca/P atomic ratio equal to 1.8, cemented by cryptocrystalline silica. Dolomite aggregates’ mineralogical make-up consisted mainly of dolomite with the presence of quartz particles in addition to impurities. They also displayed significant total porosity (10–12%), as confirmed by X-CT. These findings were discussed to develop insights for the use of three types of PWR as alternative aggregates for concrete production. This investigation contributes to unveiling the properties of PWR as concrete aggregates and encourages circularity between the mining and construction sectors.