A Canadian mining company says fresh exploration work at a site in southern Morocco has found copper and silver spread across a larger area than previously confirmed, raising hopes about the project’s potential.
Talisman Metals said new sampling at its Tirzzit project, around 225km east of Agadir, found copper in every test channel drilled across a 700-metre stretch of the site.
The results support earlier findings that the mineral-rich layer continues across the area rather than being limited to isolated pockets.
One of the strongest samples returned 1.71% copper and 22.25 parts per million of silver over 2.65 metres. Talisman said the mineralisation was still continuing when the channel ended.
On average, the seven channels sampled contained 1.21% copper and 12.25 parts per million of silver across a mineralised layer about 1.25 metres thick.
The work focused on visible green malachite at the surface, a copper mineral often seen above deeper copper deposits.
Tirzzit sits in Morocco’s Anti-Atlas mining region, close to several major mining projects. It is about 25km from the Zgounder silver mine and 85km from the Tizert copper project, one of the country’s largest copper developments.
The latest programme covered only around 700 metres of a mineralised trend that geologists believe could extend for as much as 4.6 kilometres.
Talisman Metals acquired the project earlier this year from a subsidiary of Aya Gold & Silver, which remains a shareholder in the company.
The company is also reviewing historical exploration records from the 1970s. At the time, state geologists drilled dozens of holes and reported copper intersections, including 3.16% copper over 2.5 metres.
Talisman cautioned that those historical results were produced before modern reporting standards were introduced and have not yet been independently verified.
All samples from the latest programme were analysed by Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM).
Quality control checks found no evidence of contamination. However, reference samples returned copper values about 14% lower than expected.
Talisman said it is investigating the issue but does not believe it changes the overall picture of the project.
The company plans to carry out further exploration later this year as it continues the process of formally transferring the Tirzzit mining licences.
