Canadian precious metals mining company Aya Gold & Silver has acquired a strategic exploration portfolio comprising three mining licences and 18 exploration permits covering about 259 km² of land across three distinct exploration projects, within highly prospective and underexplored mineral belts in Morocco. 

The acquisition complements the company's existing asset base and strengthens the company's district-scale exploration strategy, while expanding its exposure to precious, base and critical metal opportunities.

The purchase consideration is for $10-million in cash and the assumption of debt. The sellers are also entitled to milestone payments based on future resource and development milestones and a 2% net smelter return royalty on future commercial production from the portfolio.

“This acquisition reinforces Aya’s first-mover advantage in Morocco and advances our strategy of building one of the largest exploration portfolios in the country.

"In 2026, we have expanded our land package from approximately 732 km² to more than 991 km², representing an increase of 35.4%. We continue to secure district-scale positions early, consolidate highly prospective mineral belts and build a pipeline of exploration opportunities that have the potential to unlock future discoveries and support Aya’s next phase of long-term growth,” says Aya president and CEO Benoit La Salle.

The company notes that the newly-acquired mining licences are for the Zagora, Agadir-Melloul and Goulmim projects. The Zagora project is prospective for nickel, cobalt, zinc, silver and gold, the agadir-Melloul project for copper, silver, gold and rare earth elements and Goulmim for lead, silver, copper and gold.

Aya will,over the next 18 to 24 months, undertake greenfield exploration at the acquired licences and permits.

"We will be carrying out some stream sediments geochemistry, a high-resolution hyperspectral study, as well as some mapping and prospecting. Results from this phase will inform the need for further work like geophysics and drilling," the company states.