Intercepts 3,043 g/t Ag Over 14.4m At Zgounder
Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (TSX: AYA) has received additional high-grade T28 drill results from its 2020-21 drill exploration programme at the Zgounder Silver Mine in the Kingdom of Morocco. The T28 drill results further demonstrate high-grade silver continuity along strike and at depth.
T28 Drilling Highlights
- T28-20-1975-71 intersected 3,043 grams per tonne (g/t) Ag over 14.4m
- T28-20-1975-25 intersected 4,944 g/t Ag over 7.20m
- T28-20-1975-67 intersected 3,674 g/t Ag over 7.20m
- T28-20-1975-73 intersected 1,022 g/t Ag over 19.20m
- T28-20-1975-18 intersected 2,278 g/t Ag over 6.0m
- T28-20-1975-36 intersected 2,565 g/t Ag over 4.80m
- T28-20-1975-39 intersected 1,714 g/t Ag over 6.0m
Between September 2020 and January 2021, a total of 236 T28 holes for 4,458m were drilled for both exploration and production.
President and CEO, Benoit La Salle, said the T28 data will be included in the upcoming mineral resource update and will also be used to identify new mineralised areas for short-term mine plans.
2021 Zgounder Outlook
- Silver production of 1.2 million oz
- Silver cash cost of $11.28/oz
- 41,000m of drilling planned: 35,000m on the Zgounder mining permit and 6,000 meters on Zgounder regional exploration permits
- Two resource estimates: one expected in Q1 2021 and one in Q4 2021, as part of the Zgounder feasibility study
- Completion of the Zgounder capacity expansion feasibility study to 2,000 tpd expected in Q4 2021
“2021 will be an important year that solidifies the foundation of our three pillars of value creation. The expanded exploration programme will build on the successful 2020 drill results, including today’s all-time best drill result, which highlight the prospectivity of Zgounder and validate our objective of increasing the current resource,” Mr La Salle said.
“The 2021 production guidance, which represents a 74% increase over 2020 production, is a clear indication of the momentum started by recent operational improvements at Zgounder. We will have a clear path to increasing annual production to +4 million oz/year as we complete the capacity expansion feasibility study.
The main objective of the 41,000m exploration programme is to identify new near-mine resources on strike and at depth to be included in the feasibility study and to support Zgounder’s first mineral reserve.
In addition, regional exploration will start at Zgounder. To this end, this year’s programme comprises 35,000m of DDH and 6,000m of RC drilling, the latter of which will only be carried out regionally.
Two resource estimation updates are planned in 2021: the first, which is in March, will incorporate drill results carried out between February 2018 and mid-January 2021; and the second, which is scheduled for Q4 2021, will include subsequent data with the objective of converting resources into a maiden reserves statement.
