An Australian mining company has suspended exploration at an antimony project near the Moroccan city of Khouribga after six permits expired, delaying planned work while authorities consider applications to renew them. Zeus Resources said no field exploration took place at its Casablanca Antimony Project between July and September 2026. The six permits, covering 79 sq km, expired on 13 March, and applications to extend them for another four years remain under review.
The company said the permits, held by its wholly owned subsidiary Zeus Morocco Pty Ltd, remained in good standing while the authorities considered the applications.
Zeus had planned to carry out a new trenching programme at sites T2 to T8. The work is intended to extend the search for antimony deposits and check whether mineralisation identified in earlier exploration continues across the area.
The company said it would resume fieldwork once the regulatory procedures and required approvals were completed. It has not given a date for restarting exploration.
Previous tests at the site found antimony concentrations ranging from 7.8% to 46.52% in 20 rock samples. The samples were collected from quartz veins containing stibnite, an antimony-bearing mineral, in the southern part of the exploration area.
Zeus first reported the results in April 2025. However, the samples do not establish the size of a potential mineral deposit or whether it would be commercially viable.
The suspension comes as antimony has become increasingly important to global supply chains. The mineral is used in flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, semiconductors, defence equipment and electronics. China, a major global producer, introduced export restrictions on antimony in late 2024, raising concerns about supplies.
While its Moroccan project remains on hold, Zeus is moving ahead with exploration in Mauritania.
The company completed the first phase of its acquisition of the Diaguili Copper-Gold Project in the southern Guidimaka region in October. It now owns 51% of Sab Metals Mauritania SARL, the company that holds the project’s exploration licence.
An agreement signed on 23 July allows Zeus to increase its stake to 100% through four phases over 24 months. The acquisition is valued at $2m, payable through a combination of cash and company shares. Further payments and transfers depend on conditions, including the renewal of the exploration licence.
Zeus has contracted Tayssir Drilling to carry out the project’s first diamond drilling programme. Work is scheduled to begin in November and will cover about 1,200 metres.
The drilling will target an area measuring 1.7km in length and 500m in width, with planned depths of between 150m and 170m.
The company said a reanalysis of airborne geophysical data collected in 2008 had identified an unexplored geological target east of earlier exploration areas. The drilling will investigate the anomaly and test whether known mineralisation continues underground.
Zeus reported cash reserves of A$2.84m at the end of September, including A$765,000 in term deposits. It raised A$2m through a share issue during the third quarter, while spending about A$60,000 on exploration and project evaluation.
The company has not announced when it expects to restart exploration in Morocco. It said it would provide an update once the regulatory process allows it to schedule the next phase of work.
