The industry of ornamental rocks from South-Eastern Brazil (Santo Antˆ onio de P´adua, RJ)
produces huge amounts of waste in the form of powder. The re-use of ornamental rock
powder waste to produce red ceramics for civil construction using the powder technology
is described. The waste was added gradually up to 20 wt.%. Rectangular samples were dry
pressed and sintered at temperatures ranging from 850 to 1150 ◦C. The physical–mechanical
properties as function of sintering temperature and waste addition are presented. The
experimental results revealed that the ornamental rock powderwaste is a non-plastic polimineralic
material rich in quartz, feldspars, calcite and micaceous mineral. The sintered
specimens containing gneiss rock powder waste are adequate for red ceramics, resulting
in great advantages in waste minimization.