- Maya Gold and Silver (TSX:MYA) has delayed its exploration work, due to the COVID-19 pandemic but its mining operations in Morocco remain ongoing
- The mine shipped 1.1 tons of silver ingots to its Swiss refinery in March and is currently in talks with the Moroccan Port Authority to ship a further 400 tons of silver flotation concentrate to its smelter customer in China
- However, exploration activities at the company’s Azegour and Boumadine projects have been forced to slow down, due to new government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions
- As a result, the company redirecting cash away from the Azegour project but still expects to release the site’s preliminary economic assessment before the end of the fourth quarter
- Maya Gold and Silver Inc (MYA) is up 1.47 per cent, with shares trading for C$1.38 and a market cap of $109.9 million
Maya Gold and Silver (TSX:MYA) has delayed its exploration work, due to the COVID-19 pandemic but its mining operations in Morocco remain ongoing.
Since Morocco declared a state of emergency last month, exploration work at Maya’s Boumadine gold zinc and silver project has slowed significantly.
As a result, the company is taking the time to update its resource estimate for the site’s Imarirhen and North Zones, where the company recently finishing drilling.
Similarly, the planned preliminary economic assessment at the company’s Azegour project is progressing more slowly than expected. Instead, Maya is diverting cashflow to its Boumadine project and Zgounder mine but still plans to release Azegour assessment before the end of its fourth quarter.
In more positive news, mining operations at the company’s Zgounder mine remain uninterrupted. As result, the site has been able to ship 1.1 tons of silver ingots to its Swiss refinery in March, without issue.
The company is also currently in talks with the Moroccan Port Authority to ship a further 400 tons of silver flotation concentrate to its smelter customer in China.
Noureddine Mokaddem, Chairman and CEO of Maya is grateful that the company’s mine continues to operate, despite the challenges facing the company.
“Our suppliers and government agencies have during this trying period been valued partners in helping us maintain safe production and operational continuity; we thank them for their support will continue to work closely with them.
“Despite the current difficult situation around the world we need to prepare for the recovery and move forward our plan of development at Zgounder and Boumadine,” he said.
Case number in Morocco remain relatively low compared to neighbouring countries, at just under 2,000. However, the country has seen a steep influx of new cases in the last few weeks, with 1,500 cases confirmed since the beginning of the month.
Maya Gold and Silver Inc (MYA) is up 1.47 per cent, with shares trading for C$1.38 at 11:22am EST.