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.

The pozzolans of the Moroccan Middle Atlas are derived from a low explosive volcanism, mostly strombolian. They are mainly composed of olivine and pyroxene, presenting a less homogeneous structure (irregular vesicles). The main target of this project is to study the use of natural pozzolans (NP) and metakaolin as precursors for the production of geopolymeric binders. The characterization of raw materials and elaborated geopolymers was carried out to study their mineralogical, chemical, microstructural, and mechanical properties. The studied pozzolans and kaolin were crushed, grinded, and sifted to get a fine grain size diameter of less than 100 µm. Then, they were calcined at 750 °C for 2 h to achieve an amorphous structure, increasing of their reactivity. Geopolymer production consists of mixing pozzolans and metakaolin with different amounts with an alkaline solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicates. The mass proportion of metakaolin (MK) used in this study was 10%, 20%, and 30%. In the present work, the amount of metakaolin was added as a source of alumina. The elaborated geopolymers were characterized using XRD, FTIR, TGA, and SEM analyses. The compressive strength was measured at 7, 14, and 28 days. The results showed interesting mechanical proprieties at about 18 MPa at 28 days with the mixture containing 20% MK. The addition of MK showed a significant increase in mechanical properties of the elaborated geopolymer. Meanwhile, the other results confirmed the training of new phases in addition to N-A-S-H gel. All these results indicate that the use of pozzolans in the production of geopolymers could be a great solution for the sustainable management of this mineral resource.