Aya Gold jumps on new Boumadine drill results

Aya Gold & Silver (TSX: AYA; US-OTC: AYASF) reported high-grade assays from its Boumadine polymetallic project in Morocco while extending mineralization. The stock surged.

Highlight hole BOU-DD25-509 in the Imariren strike zone cut 9.3 metres grading 2.18 grams gold per tonne, 62 grams silver, 1.5% zinc and 0.7% lead from 282.1 metres depth, Aya reported Thursday. In the same zone, hole BOU-DD25-504 intersected 6.6 metres at 3.69 grams gold, 46 grams silver, 0.3% zinc and 0.2% lead from 141 metres depth. Those results extended the Imariren trend by 400 metres.

“Today’s high-grade drill exploration results highlight the scale and continuity of Boumadine and mark a significant step in unlocking its full potential,” said CEO Benoit La Salle. “Boumadine continues to demonstrate the potential to become a large-scale, high-grade deposit with mineralization open in all directions.”

The results come about three months after Aya boosted the indicated resource at Boumadine by 160% and the inferred resource by 24% over a 2024 report. Indicated resources now stand at 5.2 million tonnes grading 91 grams silver per tonne, 2.78 grams gold, 2.8% zinc and 0.85% lead, the company said Feb. 24.

Aya shares jumped 6.3% to $14.50 in Toronto Thursday afternoon, giving the company a market capitalization of about $1.9 billion. The stock has ranged from $8.52 to $19.56 in the past year.

Boumadine’s backbone

Another hole along the Boumadine main trend, BOU-DD24-465, cut 10.6 metres grading 0.48 gram gold, 81 grams silver, 2% zinc and 1.3% lead from 129 metres depth.

Some of the strong results from the main trend represent the “backbone” of the deposit, La Salle said. They will form the foundation of an upcoming preliminary economic assessment (PEA), he added.

Aya aims to release the PEA next year, it said.

Workers at Boumadine have drilled about 72 km since Jan. 1 as part of this year’s drilling program that’s expected to cover 100 to 140 km. Six drill rigs have been mobilized.

Aya also said Thursday it expanded Boumadine’s exploration footprint by about 16% to more than 314.5 sq. km through the addition of one mining licence and three exploration permits. The company has authorizations to explore 600 sq. km around Boumadine.