Aya Gold & Silver (TSX: AYA) has already begun to monetize their Boumadine asset, with the company this morning announcing the start of commercial production on site.
But rather than coming from new mining efforts, commercialization is focused on a historical flotation stockpile of pyrite concentrate that is said to be rich in precious metals. Recovery of the concentrate will enable the company to reduce the environmental footprint of historical operations, while generating cash flow to advance the Boumadine project.
The concentrate material was generated from legacy operations that occurred in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s on site. Those legacy operations however have proven to be fruitful, with the concentrate expected to average 2.30 g/t gold and 144 g/t silver, with an estimated 2.5 million silver equivalent ounces expected to be sold from within the concentrate.
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WATCH: Aya Gold: The Boumadine Preliminary Economic Assessment
Aya has entered into an offtake agreement with an international buyer for the sale of the legacy stockpile, with monthly production and shipment of the historical flotation product to occur over the next 20 to 24 months at a rate of 10,000 tonnes per month.
“The commercialization of the historical Boumadine stockpiles offers two key benefits. We are cleaning up legacy operations by removing unwanted acid-generating material from the site near the planned open pit and establishing commercial relationships with future offtakers of our pyrite product,” commented Benoit La Salle, CEO of Aya Gold.
An estimated 2,500 tonnes of product has already been loaded and shipped to dry port facilities in Morocco under the new arrangement, with shipping set to occur shortly for final delivery to the client.
Aya Gold & Silver last traded at $13.75 on the TSX.
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