Does anyone have a driveway made from tailings?

what is a tailing

what is a tailing

If I am not mistaken, among other things, it is a gravel... The prefer kind is the one similar to what you find in rivers becaus of the lack of rough edges... they also make those of artificial rock...

A friend of mine did that in STX... cheaper and easier to maintain...

P.S. Tailing is also the leftovers that are the result of mining. Said leftovers are then used to "pave" the roadways at the mine...

Rowdy, are you saying artificial is cheaper and easier? Do you know where your friend got the product? Thanks.

I can't imagine your man is talking about traditional tailing as that not only isn't available locally but is also environmentally destructive which is why it's difficult to contain and no real use has been found for it. How did he "describe it a bit"?

I'm curious, too!

He talked to my husband, so my info is second hand, but it is my understanding that's it's basically the leftovers from when they crush the rock into smaller gravel pieces. They wet it at the plant and then it gets spread and sets up really hard.

Since they wet it at the quarry, it's very heavy. A 22 ton truck will only take 13 tons (what would be 13 tons of dry) tailings. (??)

This is a whole new subject for me, so I'm in the learning process. Any info appreciated.

So when they lay it on the road does a machine have to compact it to set it or that's it?

interesting. thanks to all who answered

I've had a bit of experience with this, tailings after the first rain are soft and rut easy. once it packs it sets up very hard. It gets dusty in dry weather if the road is long. They are a great low price alternative to a hard surface.

Yes "tailings" as they are called here are a biproduct of the crusher at the quarry. I think it is merely an ungraded less uniform version of what is usually called "stone dust," known locally as "manufactured sand." You can go to the Heavy Materials quarry and they have samples of each material they sell in small bins at the scale for people to see. Tailings are a fine material that can be compacted into place and will become quite hard and will last a surprising amount of time.

The roadbed to which it is applied must be solid. If applied to a muddy area they will never compact into a hard surface. It can be dumped and spread by conventional means but it should be rolled with a compactor, preferably a vibratory one, for best results.

The roadbed cannot be steep. The higher the grade the less it will last.

It is not a maintenance free solution. It will require periodic redressing and replacing.

Speed will destroy the road surface. It is a comparatively delicate system. Speeding cars, especially around bends, or heavy trucks, will degrade the system very quickly.

We put the so-called tailings down in our neighborhood in one area where the road was flat and traffic could not go fast, and it lasted nicely for 5 or 6 years, with touch-up grading periodically.

We tried it and didnt work . Ended up paving. The tailings didnt pack well and washed away after hard rains. Waste of money, espically if hilly.

For True.
The grade of your driveway is probably the thing to be most concerned about. Asphalt or cement is really the only solution for heavy rains and steep grades. I have looked into this issue myslef recently and have found that cement prices are pretty close to asphalt. Most cement driveways are at least 3 1/2" thick and contain some sort of steel reinforcement. Asphalt (black top) usually only about two inches thick and no steel reinforcement. I would imagine light colored cement would also fair better than the dark asphalt under our predominately sunny skies.:-)

I have a combination of gravel and trailings now. On the steeper portions of the driveway, about every four months i usually have to go around and fill in ruts and rake stone, especially after heavy rain streaming down hill. Saving up for cement now.

Lots of people in STT get the used asphalt that is saved, particularly from the airport runway, Really you have to know somebody that knows somebody to get it,

Right single fin. I remember watching the heavy rain wash or rut the tailings down our steep drive. Once cemented all done. Had a few cracks but oh well.

Thanks for all the input. Might be re-thinking this. Our road is quite flat, so maybe.

Anyone have an idea how much 5000 sq. ft. of concrete would cost?

That's about 62 yds at 4 inches thick. I don't know the price per yard on STX. Maybe about 170.00 per yard delivered.

Rowdy, are you saying artificial is cheaper and easier? Do you know where your friend got the product? Thanks.

I am not sure how he did it. He mentioned that he connected with someone in the quarry at west end, who in turn told him how to get it. He wouldn't give me details, and I didn't ask.

He did say quite a bit of research was necessary to see if he had a good foundation on the entrance. Like a few posted, it can get "washed away" with the usual traffic and settlement. But roadway's dirt type will determine that.

Juanita, you're back! I thought you were moving off island a few years ago. Good to see you're still around. 🙂

Late to respond but most of our driveway was done using "crusher run". Fine on the flat areas, but any steep slopes will wash away. I've shoveled tons of the stuff back in place after each super-heavy rain. My advise would be to use it for the flat parts and use something else for any steep grades.

When we had a summer home in Canada years ago, we had a 1 mile long private road that was gravel and a mess in the spring.
We all chipped in (no pun intended) to have the road 'stone chipped'.
They came and sprayed tar on the gravel and then dumped small crushed gravel on it and repeated it 3 times. They then rolled it with a steamroller and that was it.
It was done 12 years ago and looks just like it did.
Not sure if anyone does this type of surfacing on St. Croix.

We used to have a marl driveway. Best when the drive is fairly flat. We did have a pile of it to fill in holes from time to time. Not sure if marl = "tailings". There's a brief article about it on this website.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Construction-Contractors-1093/2008/4/marl-road.htm

They came and sprayed tar on the gravel and then dumped small crushed gravel on it and repeated it 3 times. They then rolled it with a steamroller and that was it.
It was done 12 years ago and looks just like it did.

In England they called this "chip and seal".

Macadam