A new study has put the value of the Boumadine mining project at $3.5bn after tax, more than twice the figure from last year. Aya Gold & Silver estimates a post-tax net present value of $3.537bn for the project. It also expects a 93% internal rate of return, with the initial investment paid back within 0.7 years of production starting.
The company estimates the project could be worth $5.5bn if current market prices for metals are used. Under that scenario, the return rises to 128% and the payback period falls to 0.5 years.
The new figures are based on higher metal prices, better payment rates for the metals produced and a longer mine life. The planned mine life has increased from 11 to 14 years.
Aya expects gold and silver to remain the main sources of income. The project will also produce zinc, lead and pyrite concentrates.
Gold payment rates have increased to 82%, while silver has risen to 85%. The overall payment rate is now about 83% on a gold-equivalent basis, compared with 73% in the 2025 study.
Initial capital spending is estimated at $463m, only slightly above the previous estimate of $446m. The project’s value compared with its initial investment has therefore increased from 3.3 times to 7.6 times.
The base case uses a gold price of $3,500 an ounce and silver at $50 an ounce. Zinc is set at $1.37 a pound and lead at $0.90.
The project is expected to produce an average of about 348,000 gold-equivalent ounces a year during its first five years. Higher-grade ore will be mined first, with lower-grade material kept in stockpiles for processing later.
The planned processing plant will have a capacity of 8,000 tonnes of ore a day, or about 2.9m tonnes a year. It will use separate flotation lines to produce zinc, lead and pyrite concentrates.
Testing carried out between 2018 and 2025 showed recovery rates of 96.1% for gold, 96.4% for silver, 74.7% for zinc and 82% for lead.
The project is in the Anti-Atlas region, about 220km east of Ouarzazate and 70km south-west of Errachidia.
Aya has now started work on a full feasibility study. The company is also carrying out a 180,000-metre drilling programme this year. The wider drilling campaign is expected to reach 360,000 metres and is aimed at converting mineral resources into reserves.
Aya is also working on 260,000 tonnes of old pyrite stockpiles at the site. The material contains gold and silver, with the company targeting about 2.5m silver-equivalent ounces over 20 to 24 months.
