Spatial Suitability Analysis for Quarry Site Selection in Northern Morocco Using GIS and MCDA: Towards Sustainable Resource Exploitation

The exploitation of quarries represents a strategic component of Morocco’s construction-materials sector, especially amid rapid urbanization and infrastructure expansion. To ensure that extractive activities remain environmentally sustainable and compliant with national regulations, this study applies a spatial suitability analysis based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) within the ArcGIS Pro environment. The methodology integrates six key criteria: lithology, slope gradient, hydrographic buffers, land-use/land-cover patterns, accessibility to transport networks, and exclusion of urbanized or ecologically sensitive zones. Each parameter was weighted using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to generate a composite suitability map for quarry site selection in north-western Morocco. The resulting classification shows that 18 % of the total area is highly suitable, 34 % moderately suitable, and 48 % unsuitable for sustainable quarrying. Priority zones occur mainly within carbonate formations in the Tangier–Assilah Province and, to a lesser extent, within Numidian flysch units in the Fahs-Anjra Province. These findings demonstrate that GIS–MCDA methods offer a robust and transparent framework for optimizing quarry site selection, reducing ecological risk, and improving decision-making for land-use planning and resource management in Morocco’s extractive sector.