Aya Gold & Silver Launches Feasibility Study for Morocco’s Boumadine Mine

Marrakech – Canadian mining company Aya Gold & Silver has begun a feasibility study for the Boumadine polymetallic project in Morocco’s Province of Errachidia, advancing one of the most closely watched undeveloped precious-metal assets in the region. The announcement came on Thursday, following a positive preliminary economic assessment released in November 2025.

The Boumadine property sits approximately 220 km east of Ouarzazate and 70 km southwest of Errachidia. The nearest town, Tinejdad, lies 16 km from the site, accessible via paved and gravel roads. The project holds a mining license covering 32 square kilometers.

The feasibility study will refine project design and sharpen capital and operating cost estimates. Aya has assembled a team of qualified engineers and technical firms.

This includes Lycopodium Minerals Canada for process engineering, SRK Consulting for mineral resource estimation, SGS Canada for metallurgical testwork, Epoch Resources for tailings facility design, and SLR Consulting for the environmental and social impact assessment. The company expects to complete the study by the second half of 2027.

The 2025 preliminary assessment outlined a potential 11-year mine combining open-pit and underground operations at a processing rate of 8,000 tonnes per day. Six open pits would be mined along a 6 km trend, mainly above 350 meters depth, with underground mining starting in year two across the North, Central, and South zones.

Average annual production over the first five years was estimated at 401,000 gold-equivalent ounces. The assessment projected a post-tax net present value of $1.5 billion, an internal rate of return of 47%, and life-of-mine revenue of $7 billion, based on assumed prices of $2,800 per ounce of gold and $30 per ounce of silver. Initial capital investment was estimated at $446 million.

Gold accounts for an estimated 61% of project revenues, followed by silver at 21%, zinc at 13%, and lead at 5%. The project’s indicated mineral resource stands at 74 million silver-equivalent ounces at 448 grams per tonne, with an inferred resource of 378 million silver-equivalent ounces at 402 grams per tonne.

On the ground, ten drill rigs are currently operating as part of a 360,000-meter infill drilling campaign. Approximately 38,000 meters had been completed as of March 10, with a target of 180,000 meters for 2026. The drilling supports mineral resource conversion and geological confidence for reserve estimation.

Mineralization along the Main, Tizi, and Imariren trends remains open in all directions. Core scanning will also assess the presence of metals not typically assayed, including antimony, cobalt, and tin.

An updated mineral resource estimate is targeted for the second half of 2026, incorporating results from the ongoing drilling program. SRK has been selected to lead that update.

The flotation plant outlined in the assessment would process 2.9 million tonnes per year, producing separate zinc, lead, and pyrite concentrates containing payable gold and silver. Concentrates would be trucked to the Nador-West port, approximately 641 km from the site. A covered handling facility near the port would provide up to 250,000 tonnes of storage capacity.

Water supply planning is also advancing. Aya retained Groupement des Consultants et Ingenieurs du Maroc to study sourcing options, which may include municipal supply, local wells, and treated city wastewater. The company is also assessing the potential for a pipeline connection to one of several water dams in the region.

The tailings storage facility has been designed as a fully lined valley-storage structure built in phases to accommodate approximately 18.5 million tonnes of flotation tailings over the mine’s life, in accordance with Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management standards.

Meanwhile, Hatch Ltd. has been retained to evaluate the optionality of a roaster facility for further treatment of pyrite concentrate.

Separately, Aya launched in the fourth quarter of 2025 the reclaiming and commercialization of a historical pyrite stockpile at Boumadine. The legacy material, approximately 260,000 tonnes from past lead and zinc operations, contains estimated grades of 2.30 grams per tonne gold and 144 grams per tonne silver.

The program is expected to run 20 to 24 months at an estimated rate of 10,000 tonnes per month, producing roughly 2.5 million silver-equivalent ounces.

Aya has also initiated a bid process for detailed engineering of site access roads and surface infrastructure, including a proposed transmission line and substation connection for grid power supply. Concentrate transport is planned by road to port facilities.

“We are accelerating development at Boumadine as it enters the feasibility stage,” said President and CEO Benoit La Salle, noting that nearly 20% of the 2026 drilling objective has already been completed.

Aya will release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results on March 31.