Adds New Exploration Permit at Boumadine

Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (TSX: AYA) (OTCQX: AYASF) is pleased to announce new high-grade exploration drill results at Boumadine and acquisition of a new adjacent exploration permit at Boumadine in the Kingdom of Morocco. The new results extend the main mineralized trend by 400 meters and continue to demonstrate continuity of the Boumadine Main Zone. The north area returned high-grade intersections, which expand the mineralization both at depth and to the north, with section 5400N to the south extending Boumadine Main trend as well. The Main Zone remains open in all directions.

Key Highlights¹

• Definition of new high-grade mineralization and extension of the South Zone. The Main Zone now has an open-ended strike length of over 4.2 kilometres.
  • BOU-DD23-143 intersected 1,410 grams per tonne silver equivalent over 9.3 meters (12.34 g/t Au, 94 g/t Ag, 2.5% Zn, 0.4% Pb and 0.1% Cu) including 6.1m at 1,796 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD23-161 intersected 664 g/t AgEq over 8.4m (4.72 g/t Au, 122 g/t Ag, 1.1% Zn, 0.2% Pb and 0.3% Cu), including 3.9m at 1,280 g/t AgEq and 3.2m at 933 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD23-168 intersected 698 g/t AgEq over 7.8m (4.36 g/t Au, 97 g/t Ag, 2.4% Zn, 1.3% Pb and 0.2% Cu), including 3.0m at 1,336 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD23-152 intersected 928 g/t AgEq over 5.9m (7.42 g/t Au, 153 g/t Ag, 0.3% Zn, 1.7% Pb and 0.1% Cu), including 4.9m at 1,056 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD23-162 intersected 748 g/t AgEq over 7.2m (6.39 g/t Au, 82 g/t Ag, 0.8% Zn, 0.4% Pb and 0.1% Cu), including 1.3m at 1,661 g/t AgEq and 3.2m at 933 g/t AgEq
  • BOU-DD23-148 intersected 456 g/t AgEq over 10.4m (2.63 g/t Au, 64 g/t Ag, 2.4% Zn, 0.1% Pb and 0.1% Cu), including 2.3m at 1,195 g/t AgEq
• Acquisition of a 16 km² exploration permit east of Boumadine as part of a reallocation of exploration permits by the Moroccan Directorate of Mines.
• A video of the Boumadine property showing drilling results to August 2023 can be viewed here.

“Today’s high-grade drill results at Boumadine confirm the continuity and extension of the mineralized footprint of the Main Zone in every direction,” said Benoit La Salle, President & CEO. “We have completed 61% of our expanded drill exploration program and as the new Boumadine video shows, extended the Boumadine strike length by over 55% to 4.2 kilometers in the past 12 months. We have also added prime exploration ground nearby and continue to consolidate and drill the property, which will deliver value for all stakeholders.”

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

2023 Exploration Results 

To date, 233 diamond drill holes for a total of 48,276m have been completed at Boumadine in 2023 (Figure 2 and Appendix 2). Both infill and exploration drilling were conducted on strike along the Main Trend (South, Central, and North Zones). The 76,000m program is expected to be complete by the end of December 2023.

Drill results have been received for all drill holes up to BOU-DD23-164 with the addition of holes BOU-DD23-168, BOU-DD23-169, BOU-DD23-193 and BOU-DD23-197 (Table 1, Figure 4, Figure 5, and Appendix 1).

Results received since July 2023 extend the mineralization an additional 200m to the south with BOU-DD23-193 and BOU-DD23-197 intersecting the upper-part of the Main Trend mineralization in the form of massive sulphide veins.  Relogging activities, which began at the beginning of the year to add past drilling to the database, have increased the mineralization by an additional 200m to the north.

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.

Next Steps

The 76,000m drilling program is 61% complete and is expected to be completed by the end of December 2023. RSC Consulting Limited has been mandated to conduct a NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate of Boumadine which the Corporation intends to publish in 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 are transported in sealed bags for analysis at Afrilab laboratory in Marrakech. Standards of different grades and blanks are 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 3 – New Drillhole Coordinates of 2023 Boumadine Exploration Program (completed holes)

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Figure 1: Location of New Boumadine Permit and Geological Context (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)

Figure 2 – Surface Plan of Boumadine Property with Magnetic Data (Residual Total Field) and 2023 Drill Holes (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)

Figure 3 – Longitudinal View of Boumadine Main Zone (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)

Figure 4 – Surface Plan of South Zone with New 2023 DDH Results (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)

Figure 5 – Surface Plan of Central & North Zones with New 2023 DDH Results (CNW Group/Aya Gold & Silver Inc)