New drilling at Aya Gold & Silver’s (TSX, Nasdaq: AYA) Zgounder mine in Morocco yielded several bonanza hits near and below the limits of the current open pit.
The standout intercept came from underground hole T28-26-1248, which cut 8 metres of 2,176 grams silver per tonne from 8 metres downhole, including 4 metres of 4,298 grams silver from the same depth, Aya said Tuesday in a statement. Hole ZG-RC-26-946 in the open-pit area cut 6 metres grading 1,867 grams silver from 96 metres depth. Zgounder is about 215 km south of Marrakech by road.
“Continued high-grade intercepts across the open pit, central zone, and Western Fault contact reinforce the strong continuity of silver mineralization at Zgounder at depth and along strike,” Scotia Capital mining analyst Eric Winmill said in a note. Zgounder accounts for 41% of Aya’s net asset value, according to Winmill’s calculations.
Zgounder is one of the world’s few silver-only operations, generating all its revenue from silver doré production. The mine, whose operating life is projected to run until 2036, produced 4.8 million oz. of the metal last year. It’s one of two key Moroccan assets for the company – along with the Boumadine polymetallic project, which is advancing toward a late 2027 feasibility study.
Aya shares rose 2.5% to C$29.36 in early afternoon trading Tuesday in Toronto, valuing the company at about $4.2 billion (US$3 billion). The stock has traded between $11.45 and $30.15 in the past year.
Solid reserve base
Other notable results include hole ZG-RC-26-942 in the open-pit area, which cut 10 metres of 739 grams silver from 129 metres downhole. Nearby hole ZG-RC-26-799, meanwhile, cut 6 metres of 1,160 grams silver from 6 metres depth. The latest results were generated from 116 drill holes, Aya said.
Aya completed a major expansion of the operation in 2024, boosting the plant’s processing capacity to 1.4 million tonnes per year.
Zgounder hosts proven and probable reserves of 15.7 million tonnes grading 145 grams silver for contained metal of 73.4 million oz. silver, according to a December 2025 resource.
New zones
Exploration has been a major focus at Zgounder in recent years. Aya has consistently reported high-grade results from both near-mine and at-depth drilling programs, including the discovery of new mineralized zones north of the open pit and extensions of mineralization along the Western Fault corridor.
New intersections near the Western Fault “continue to support the significant exploration potential to the west,” where development of the exploration drift at the 1825-metre level is advancing ahead of planned drilling west of the fault in the second half of 2026, CEO Benoit La Salle said in the company’s statement.
Aya has finished about one-third of its planned 30,000-metre exploration program at Zgounder this year.
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