Relación entre el grado de desgaste y las características de origen de agregados gruesos cuarcíticos, recuperados de pasivos ambientales en canteras del Sistema de Tandilia, Buenos Aires

Abstract

In the Buenos Aires province quarries, developed in the Tandilia System, large amounts of rocks generically denominated as quartzite are removed and accumulated as environmental liabilities, in order to exploit the underlying clay strata. Considering that the clay mining activity continues to grow, it is necessary to properly address this problem. This contribution presents the first studies focused on characterizing these quartzite rocks in order to encourage their use as coarse aggregate in road works. The petrographic studies together with the results of the Micro Deval (MD) wear test allowed four varieties of quartzite to be defined. Quartzite with a higher proportion of matrix (C1) have higher wear values (MD coefficient 24.6) than those with a higher proportion of quartz clasts (C2 and C3, MD coefficients of 15.5 and 18.2, respectively). On the other hand, the action of recrystallization processes could also have influenced the best response of these rocks (C4). Although the MD coefficients are acceptable to slightly above those suggested for coarse aggregates for road use, it is recommended to make mixtures that include the different varieties of quartzite to reach admissible values in these materials.