Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – UK-based Altus Strategies announced it had discovered more zinc, cobalt and copper prospects at its Takzim project in central Morocco.
The exploration had encouraging results for the company at its 71.8 square kilometer Takzim project as the Surface samples include 4.64 percent zinc, 7.78 percent copper and 0.15 percent cobalt, Altus said in a statement on December 12.
Altus’s Chief Executive Steven Poulton said, “Although at an early stage, we are encouraged by these further discoveries at Takzim.
“The next phase of exploration is currently being planned and will focus on establishing the potential source and scale of the copper, cobalt and zinc mineralisation discovered to date.”
The UK-based mining exploration company has completed mapping and reconnaissance exploration over the Takzim project, including the recently granted Takzim Est licenses.
In May, Morocco granted licenses to Altus to explore zinc, copper and other base metals in different locations in the kingdom, including Takzim Est, Arfa, and Ammas, totaling 87.55 square kilometers.
Read also: UK-Based Mining Company to Dig For Zinc and Copper in Morocco
In February, the company’s subsidiary, Aterian Resources, received six permits in the Zaer region, 80 kilometers south of Rabat, over an area of 96 square kilometers.
The Takzim project consists of “five licence blocks” located in Eastern Jebilet province of central Morocco, 35 kilometers northeast of Marrakech.
Founded in 2007, Altus Strategies is a British exploration project generator with a focus on the African continent.
Altus discovers and develops natural resources such as gold, copper, iron, zinc, and silver in African countries including Morocco, Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Liberia.
Growing mining production in Morocco
In September, the Moroccan Minister of Energy Aziz Rabbah said that Morocco mined 35.11 million tons of minerals and precious metals in 2017, earning MAD 56.5 billion in revenue.
In 2016, mines produced 28.92 million tons, and mining investments amounted to MAD 32 billion.
Mining production, 90 percent of which is phosphates, made up 10 percent of GDP and 20 percent of Morocco’s exports. Morocco also mines gold, silver, copper, zinc, and cobalt.
Read also: Moroccan Mining Sector Ranks 2nd in MENA Region: Report
In its latest industry trend analysis, the BMI research group ranked Morocco’s mining sector as the second most attractive market in the MENA region, after Saudi Arabia, with an overall Mining Risk Reward Index (RRI) score of 56.3 out of 100.
Rabbah stated that Morocco has ambitious goals for 2025 to develop the non-phosphate mining sector.
The goal is to triple the sector’s turnover, multiply investment tenfold in exploration and mining research, and double job positions.
