Azegour (Mo, Cu, W)

About Azegour

Maya has a 100% stake in the property and an exploitation permit. The mine, operated periodically since 1931, has been a significant producer of base metals.

Profile

The site was most intensively mined between 1931 and 1947. Historical documents report the processing of approximately 500,000 tonnes of ore during that time. The cut and fill method used at the mine yielded an average of 2,270 tonnes of ore per vertical metre over 200 metres of elevation. A 2006 historical resource estimate for molybdenum, copper, and uranium produced the values cited below:

Mineral	Tonnage (t)*	Mined (t)	Grade (wt. %)	Historical Resources (t)*	Grade (wt. %)
Molybdenite	1,500,000	500,00	0.35-0.40 (Mo)	1,000,000	0.35-0.40 (Mo)
Chalcopyrite	1,200,000	800,000	3.00 (Cu)	400,000	3.00 (Cu)
Scheelite	329,000-500,000	50,000	0.35(WO₃)	270,000-450,000	0.35(WO₃)
Uraninite	—	120	1.00 (U₃O₈)	—	—

* These resources are considered historical as per NI 43-101 standards of disclosure for mineral projects. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, the issuer is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources, and the historical estimate should not be relied upon.

Location

The Azegour mine is located in the Occidental range of the High Atlas mountains, 60 kilometres southeast of Marrakech. It is 12 kilometres south of our Amizmiz property.

Access

From Marrakech, a paved highway runs across the Haouz Plain to the town of Amizmiz from which a narrow paved road branches westward for eight kilometres to an intersection near the village of Azegour. The old mine entrance is located 400 metres north of the intersection on a dirt road (Figure 1).

Surface area

The property consists of one exploitation permit (183208) that covers 16km².

Geological and Structural Framework

Azegour is a skarn deposit formed by the emplacement of the Hercynian Azegour monzogranitic pluton (273±2 Ma) into Lower Cambrian folded volcanic and sedimentary rocks (limestones and schists). Molybdenite (Mo), chalcopyrite (Cu) and scheelite (W) mineralization is located within the metamorphic aureole of the monzogranite and impregnated in calc-silicate rocks (Figure 2). The pluton presents two major facies:

a fine-grained granite located on the border of the pluton or included as blocs in the second facies and
a dominant facies composed of a coarse-grained homogeneous monzogranite.

The contact of the monzogranite with the Paleozoic volcanosedimentary rocks is extremely sharp. Several fractures are filled by small mafic to porphyry felsic dykes and hydrothermal veins.

Mineralization

Molybdenite, scheelite, chalcopyrite and accessory mineralization that contain uranium, nickel and cobalt are all located within the metamorphic aureole surrounding the Azegour pluton. The Mo-W-Cu mineralization is impregnated in calc-silicate rocks formed by grenatites and pyroxenites. It presents itself as irregular pods extending in a N-S direction. Molybdenite is associated with grossular-bearing hornfels (Figure 3), scheelite is present in phaneritic andradite- bearing grenatite (Figure 4) and chalcopyrite is found in pyroxene hornfelses (Figure 5).

History

2019

MAYA GOLD AND SILVER SET TO START THE EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ITS AZEGOUR* MINE (*COPPER, MOLYBDENUM, TUNGSTEN AND URANIUM).
The work contemplated involves computerization, surface exploration, underground exploration at already accessible levels, surveying, geophysical survey, surface diamond drilling, underground percussion drilling, metallurgical testing with sampling of historical tailings and rock piles as well the cleaning of the legacy.
The Corporation has hired GoldMinds Geoservices Inc. to guide and assist the Maya technical team at Azegour to ensure that work and procedures are well aligned with standard best practice with these commodities with the intent to use the findings in the preparation of an independent NI 43-101 technical report.

2011

Maya Gold & Silver acquires 100% interest in the Azegour Mine and its related mining permit from Ouiselsat Mines S.A.

2003 – 2008

Mine exploration by Ouiselat Mines S.A. for W and Cu, underground and surface work at the Tizgui and Iszarifan sites, underground channel sampling, assays of 0.25, 0.27 and 0.57 wt. % MoS₂ obtained and three drill holes totaling 131 m.

1984 – 1990’s

Mapping and rock sampling of the Azegour area by a Japanese mining consortium on behalf of the MEM

1971

Shut down of the Azegour mine due to low commodities prices. Discovery of scheelite (CaWO4) and failed exploitation by the BRPM

1958 – 1970

Sporadic exploration for Mo and Cu. Exploration included 8,400 m of drifts and 4,000 m of drill core

1950

Historical resources evaluated at 120,000 t at 0.20 % MoS₂ and 130,000 t at 0.20 % W0₃

1946 – 1947

Historical reserves evaluated at 500,000 t at 0.2 % MoS₂

1931

First exploitation by the Société le Molybdène which produced over 200 tonnes of 85% molybdenite (MoS₂) concentrate

1920

First investigation by les Sociétés des Mines de Béni-Aicha et d’Entifa