Name of the Mine
Zgounder mine.

Location  
East of Agadir, in the Taroudant province of Morocco.

Mine Owner/s  
The mine is 85:15 joint venture between Aya Gold & Silver and the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines of Morocco.

Brief Description  
Zgounder is the second most-important silver mine in Morocco after the Imiter mine. The mine is planned as a combined openpit and underground operation.

Brief History  
The Zgounder mine reached commercial production in January 2019.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Silver.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
None stated.

Geology/Mineralisation  
Zgounder is located within the Proterozoic Siroua Massif of the Anti-Atlas. range.

The mine’s technical report defines the geological series as mainly volcano-sedimentary formations attributed to the Precambrian II (PII), which are intruded to the west by the Askaoun Granodioritic Massif (later Precambrian II-III). The series is overlaid in the east by the volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Ouarzazate series (PII) and Neogene phonolites.

The volcano-sedimentary series consists of a mixed sequence of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks, dolerite and granodiorite intrusions. Outcrops in the form of a window of PII rocks occur on the south limb of a large east-west-trending monocline, dipping steeply to the south. The series is surrounded by PIII volcanics and volcaniclastics to the east, basal PII formations to the north, and the Askaoun granite to the west and south-west.

The Zgounder technical report notes that silver mineralisation occurs at the top of the Brown Formation (sandstone), predominantly along the contact and within the dolerite sill. The economic silver concentrations at the mine are present mostly as vertical bodies, complex clusters, shear zones and veinlets, and at the intersection of the east-west and north–south fractures, though preferentially at the contact zones between schist and dolerite.

Native silver occurs in complex sets of microfractures, mainly at intersections with sulphide veinlets, and locally accompanied by chlorite-rich alteration. Small silver grains, at an average of 50 μm, occur in corrosion zones of early sulphides or disseminated within the schist and dolerite.

Reserves  
Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2021, were estimated at 8.6-million tonnes grading 257 g/t silver.

Resources  
Total measured and indicated resources as at December 31, 2021, were estimated 9.77-million tonnes grading 306 g/t silver. Inferred minerals resources were estimated at 542 000 t grading 367 g/t silver.

Mining Method  
Zgounder will be mined through a combination underground and openpit mining, and the reclamation of historical tailings.

The underground mine uses a combination of drift-and-fill mining and longhole stoping.

The openpit will use drill-and-blast and truck-and-shovel methods.

Tailings reclamation uses loader-and-truck methods; no drilling and blasting are required.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
The current Zgounder project infrastructure includes the underground mine, a repair shop and warehouse, an explosive magazine, a flotation plant, a cyanidation plant, a tailings storage facility and water ponds, a water treatment plant, water lines, electric air compressors, a mine office, a drill core shack, an accommodation camp, site access roads and diesel generators.

The site access roads include a permanent bridge at the mine entrance and appropriate drainage to allow for vehicles to cross the Zgounder river.

Electrical power to the project is provided for by two substations connected to the national power grid at Askaoun, the nearest village to the Zgounder mine.

Prospects  
In February 2022, a feasibility study confirmed strong economics for expanding the Zgounder mine throughput from 700 t/d to 2 700 t/d by building a 2 000 t/d flotation carbon-in-pulp plant to produce silver ingots. The project is expected to be completed in 2024.

Contact Details
Aya Gold & Silver

Sources
Aya Gold & Silver. Website: https://ayagoldsilver.com/.
Aya Gold & Silver. Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate of the Zgounder silver project, Kingdom of Morocco (December 13, 2021).