Canada’s Morocco Strategic Minerals Corporation has signed an option agreement with Moroccan group MNF Groupe Inc., giving it the right to acquire up to 80% of a major mineral portfolio in the Western High Atlas, the company announced.
The agreement covers five exploitation licences: Tanfit Mine, Ijoukak, Amsghni, Aït Zekri Mine and Ighrm. It also includes two exploration permits at Tamadghoust and Tizgui, alongside an environmental permit for a central flotation plant in the Ouneine Valley. A separate option also grants the company the right to acquire 100% of the Ouneine Mine.
In total, the package spans more than 57 square kilometres in Morocco’s Western High Atlas, a historic mining district once known for copper, silver and gold production.
Morocco Strategic Minerals said it will now begin a four-month due diligence period before making staged payments totalling $1 million to advance the deal.
High-grade historical potential
The company said early sampling suggests strong grades across key assets. At Tanfit, results averaged 10.4% copper, with peak samples reaching 23.76% copper and 137 grams per tonne of silver. Ouneine has also returned high-grade historical values, including up to 27% copper and 250 g/t silver from earlier hand-sorting operations.
Tanfit and Ouneine were last mined at scale in the 1960s and 1970s, when copper concentrates reportedly reached between 25% and 29%.
Aït Zekri, meanwhile, is positioned as the district’s main gold target. The company said 18 diamond drill holes have been completed, totalling more than 2,000 metres. One intercept at hole SAZ-12 returned 6.70 g/t gold over one metre, while underground sampling reached 3.31 g/t gold and 240 g/t silver.
Geological setting and infrastructure
The Western High Atlas is described as a structurally controlled mineral system, with ore hosted in faults, quartz veins and hydrothermal breccias.
The project lies around 96 kilometres south of Marrakech and is accessed via the R203 road and the Tizi n’Test pass. The area was affected by the 2023 Al Haouz earthquake, although the company said reconstruction work has improved long-term access to mountain infrastructure.
Company background and strategy shift
Morocco Strategic Minerals, formerly Genius Metals Inc., rebranded in January 2025 to focus on Moroccan assets. The company is targeting copper and precious metals linked to the energy transition.
It has been reducing losses and reallocating capital away from Canada towards Moroccan projects, including Tifernine and Timarighine. The company said the Western High Atlas portfolio fits its strategy of building district-scale mining positions.
Its partner, MNF Groupe Inc., a subsidiary of Broychim S.A., provides local operational and regulatory support. Broychim is a long-established Moroccan industrial group.
Sector context
The deal comes as Morocco seeks to expand its mining sector under a revised regulatory framework aimed at streamlining permitting and attracting foreign investment.
Global demand for copper, driven by electric vehicle and grid infrastructure expansion, has intensified interest in North African deposits. The inclusion of a flotation plant permit also signals a focus on local processing, in line with Morocco’s industrial policy to retain more value domestically.
The Western High Atlas is part of a wider wave of exploration activity across Morocco, where junior miners are increasingly active alongside established operators such as Aya Gold & Silver.
