Commercial Production At New Zgounder Silver Mine Processing Plant

MONTREAL - Aya Gold & Silver Inc. has reached commercial production at its Zgounder Mine located in the Kingdom of Morocco. The new Zgounder mill first started processing ore on November 4th. The first silver pour from Zgounder’s new processing plant was achieved on November 27th, with commercial production reached on December 29th, less than two months after the mill began processing the first ore.

Over a thirty-day period ending on December 29th, a total of 45,683 tonnes (t) of ore were processed at the new mill. Processing rates averaged 84 tonnes per hour (tph), at 75% availability. As such, the mill processed an average of 1,523 tonnes per day (tpd), equivalent to 76% of nameplate capacity. Silver recovery was 79%.

Recently, between December 19th and 29th, mill throughput averaged 1,834 tpd and reached 2,152 tpd on December 27th with stable operating conditions. Mill availability and silver recovery were 86% and 79%, respectively, and improving daily.

Commercial production was defined as a period of 30 days of operations during which the new mill operated at a minimum of 60% of the mill nameplate throughput of 2,000 tpd. This milestone was reached on December 29th, 45,683t were processed for the period averaging 76% capacity.

“I am proud to announce the start of commercial production of the new mill at Aya’s expanded Zgounder mine, completed on budget,” said President & CEO, Benoit La Salle. “This transformative milestone reflects the dedication and expertise of our employees and contractors who built, tested, ramped up and are now processing ore from both Zgounder’s open-pit and underground operations. With over 600 full-time employees, a fully funded expanded operation and a strong financial foundation, Aya is well positioned to support its growth while establishing a new standard for innovative ESG financing in the global mining industry. We remain committed to our sustainability objectives including our near-term decarbonization targets, as we continue with ramp up activities. I extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who made this achievement possible, especially our shareholders, whose unwavering support has been instrumental in realizing this vision.”