Boumadine Main Zone Now Extends 3.8 Kilometers

Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (TSX: AYA) (OTCQX: AYASF) is pleased to announce new high-grade exploration drill results at Boumadine, located in the Kingdom of Morocco. These results extend the main mineralized trend by 400 metres and continue to demonstrate continuity of the Boumadine Main Zone. Section 5600N delivered strong results and remains open to the south while the new zone in the northwest significantly opens the potential at surface and can be followed over 1.5 kilometers.

Key Highlights¹

• Definition of new high-grade mineralization and extension of the South Zone. The Main Zone, which now extends over 3.8 kilometres (“km”), is open at both ends along strike and at depth.
  • BOU-DD23-142 intersected 475 grams per tonne (“g/t”) silver equivalent (“AgEq”) over 11.8 meters (“m”) (0.97 g/t Au, 88 g/t Ag, 4.2% Zn, 1.6% Pb and 0.01% Cu) including 4.2m at 625 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD23-111 intersected 539 g/t AgEq over 9.6m (1.76 g/t Au, 134 g/t Ag, 3.9% Zn, 0.5% Pb and 0.1% Cu), including 3.1m at 1,367 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD23-125 intersected 459 g/t AgEq over 4.8m (0.71 g/t Au, 205 g/t Ag, 1.8% Zn, 2.5% Pb and 0.01% Cu), including 1.2m at 1,111 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD23-117 intersected 481 g/t AgEq over 3.3m (4.31 g/t Au, 28 g/t Ag, 0.4% Zn, 0.3% Pb and 0.2% Cu), including 1.9m at 746 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD22-121 intersected 456 g/t AgEq over 3.6m (4.19 g/t Au, 34 g/t Ag, 0.1% Zn, 0.1% Pb and 0.2% Cu), including 3.1m at 512 g/t AgEq
• Extension of the Main Zone by 400m to the south to 3.8 km of strike length, which remains open in all directions.
• Discovery of a new mineralized zone in the Northwest through the surface mapping program, with surface samples returning values up to 460 g/t AgEq over a >1.5km structure of N030 orientation.
• First site visit conducted by RSC Consulting Limited, which has been mandated to conduct a NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate of Boumadine.

“Today’s high-grade drill results at Boumadine confirm the continuity and extension of the mineralized footprint south of the Main Zone. We have also discovered a new mineralized structure at surface to the north, which increases the resource potential,” said Benoit La Salle, President & CEO. “We have completed 85% of our drill exploration program and extended the Boumadine strike length by over 40% to 3.8 kilometers in the past 10 months. We have subsequently identified several other high impact drill targets and mobilized 5 drill rigs to deliver value for all stakeholders.”

Table 1 – Significant Intercepts from Boumadine Drill Exploration Program (Core Lengths)

2023 Exploration Results

To date, 85 diamond drill holes for a total of 31,205m have been completed at Boumadine (Figure 1 and Appendix 3). Both infill and exploration drilling were conducted on strike along the main trend (South and Central zones). The 36,000m budgeted program is expected to be complete by the end of July 2023.

Drill results have been received for all drill holes up to BOU-DD23-131 with the addition of holes BOU-DD23-136 and BOU-DD23-142 (Table 1, Figure 2, and Appendix 1).

Results received in June extend the mineralization an additional 400m to the south with BOU-DD23-125, BOU-DD23-136 and BOU-DD23-142 intersecting high-grade mineralization in the form of massive sulphide veins.

The main mineralization generally consists of 1m to 4m wide (locally reaching over a 10m width) N340- oriented massive sulphide lenses/veins sharply dipping eastward (> 70°). The massive sulphide veins (>80%) are mainly composed of pyrite, with variable proportions of sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite. Figure 2 presents the results of the Boumadine Main Zone shown on a longitudinal section along the deposit, defining ore shoots shallowly dipping toward south, in both the Central and South Zones.

In addition, detail mapping was conducted on the entire project, increasing our geological understanding of the mineralized events and the main geological settings. In particular, two major sets of faulting events can be recognized: a N030 faulting event that cross-cut Boumadine Main Trend (N340) and may be responsible for the Au-Zn enrichment of the mineralization; and a N070 fault event cutting both N340 and N070 structures that seems to be responsible for the Ag-Pb enrichment. In parallel, 127 surface grab samples were taken (36 are still pending), which allowed us to identify a new mineralized structure in the northwest of the property (see Figure 4). The structure, which can be followed for over 1.5km, returned assay values of 460 g/t AgEq (Appendix 2). This discovery demonstrates the potential outside of the Boumadine Main Trend.

Next Steps

The 36,000m drilling program is 85% complete and is expected to be completed by the end of July 2023. Relogging and resampling of historical drill holes is also expected to be completed in July. The Corporation expects to use both data sets in estimating an NI 43-101 compliant resource by Q1-2024.

Technical Information

Aya has implemented a quality control program to comply with best practices in sampling and analysis of drill core. Drill core samples were transported in sealed bags for analysis at Afrilab laboratory in Marrakech. Standards of different grades and blanks were inserted every 20 samples in addition to the standards, blanks and pulp duplicate inserted by Afrilab.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this press release have been reviewed by David Lalonde, B. Sc, Head of Exploration, Qualified Person, for accuracy and compliance with National Instrument 43-101.

About Aya Gold & Silver Inc.

Aya Gold & Silver Inc. is a rapidly growing, Canada-based silver producer with operations in the Kingdom of Morocco.

The only TSX-listed pure silver mining company, Aya operates the high-grade Zgounder Silver Mine and is exploring its properties along the prospective South-Atlas Fault, several of which have hosted past-producing mines and historical resources. Aya’s Moroccan mining assets are complemented by its Tijirit Gold Project in Mauritania, which is being advanced to feasibility.

Aya’s management team maximizes shareholder value by anchoring sustainability at the heart of its production, resource, governance, and financial growth plans.

Appendix 1 – Full Drill Results from Boumadine (core lengths) 

Appendix 2 – Significant Results from 2023 Boumadine Exploration Program (Surface Sampling)

Appendix 3 – New Drillhole Coordinates of 2023 Boumadine Exploration Program (completed holes)

Figure 1 – Surface Plan of Boumadine Property with Magnetic Data (Residual Total Field) and 2023 Drill Holes (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)

Figure 2 – Longitudinal View of Boumadine Main Zone (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)

Figure 3 – Surface Plan of South Zone with New 2023 DDH Results (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)

Figure 4 – Surface Plan of Property with Simplified Geology and 2023 Surface Samples (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)