Physico-mechanical characterization of schists in Tazzeka complex [Taza Province, Eastern Morocco]

This paper presents the first results of a physicomechanical reconnaissance campaign on the schist of the Tazekka primary massif in northeast Morocco. The main objective of this work is to assimilate the mechanical behavior of those schists, propose characteristic correlations via more accessible tests and assess the technical and economic opportunities for the exploitation of this deposit. For this purpose, a total of 29 sites were selected according to a multi-criteria study. Thus, 203 sampled specimens were subjected to several characterization trials, namely the Los Angeles test, Micro Deval test, Uniaxial compression test, Fragmentability test, Degradability test and Ultrasonic wave velocity test. On the first hand, the results highlight the potential of these rocks as road aggregates according to European standards specifically for low traffic roads constituting 70% of the local network. On the second hand, The large amount of collected data allowed the proposal of representative correlations between the different mechanical tests relating to the compression and shearing ultrasonic waves velocities. Finally, this experimental study constitutes a first orientation work in favor of state services to update their technical approaches, which generally prohibit the reuse of the evolving rocks.