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    Aya high-grade shallow silver at Zgounder: mine-plan and capex lens for engineers

    September 18, 2026|

    Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

    Aya high-grade shallow silver at Zgounder: mine-plan and capex lens for engineers

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    Aya Gold & Silver has reported shallow, high-grade intercepts at its Zgounder mine in Morocco, including 13 metres at 783 g/t silver from surface in hole ZG-RC-24-155 and 11 metres at 501 g/t from 2 metres in ZG-RC-24-354, as part of a 30,000-metre programme using RC, diamond and percussion drilling. Additional near-surface hits such as 12 metres at 762 g/t from 7 metres (T28-26-1404) and 14 metres at 468 g/t from 14 metres (T28-26-1443) could support resource conversion and mine-plan updates around the open pit and central zone. Zgounder, now running a 2,700 t/d plant and targeting 5.2–5.8 million oz silver this year at US$21.50/oz cash costs, is also advancing an exploration drift at the 1,825-metre level to open drilling west of the Zgounder fault in Q4, while the Boumadine project carries a US$3.5 billion NPV and 93% IRR for planned 2030 start-up.

    Technical Brief

    • Zgounder’s December 2025 resource stands at 18.9 Mt measured and indicated at 165 g/t Ag (100.2 Moz).
    • Inferred resources add 410,000 t at 340 g/t Ag for 4.5 Moz contained silver.
    • Aya has released results from 97 holes in the current Zgounder campaign to date.
    • The 30,000 m programme combines underground diamond, surface core, reverse-circulation and percussion drilling methods.
    • An exploration drift is being driven at the 1,825 m level to access drilling west of the Zgounder fault.
    • Drift development is scheduled to enable first drilling in the new western target area in Q4.
    • Zgounder’s 2,700 t/d plant reached commercial production in December 2024, underpinning current mine expansion drilling.
    • Boumadine’s updated PEA indicates a US$3.5 billion after-tax NPV, 93% IRR and 0.7-year payback at US$3,500/oz Au and US$50/oz Ag.

    Our Take

    With Zgounder’s measured and indicated resource at 100.2 Moz Ag and Boumadine emerging as a gold‑silver‑zinc‑lead project 240 km away, Aya is one of the few Africa‑based silver names in our 1,292‑story mining corpus building district‑scale optionality rather than a single high‑grade underground mine.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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