By: Zawya

The UK’s Mining company Critical Mineral Resources (CMR) has announced major progress at its Agadir Melloul copper project in Morocco, including the acquisition of new permits, exclusivity agreements, and the start of drilling. 

The company said this marks a key step in turning the project into a significant new source of copper and silver.

The project, located about 240 kilometres east of Agadir, is being developed through a joint venture with Coppernicus Mining Company (CMC).

The partners now hold six permits in the district and have secured exclusivity over six more, giving them what CMR describes as a “dominant position” in Agadir Melloul.

CMR is working toward a 60 percent stake in the project. The company aims to confirm an exploration target of 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes of copper at an average grade of 1.2 percent.

Surface trenching has already revealed high-grade results, including 27 metres at 2.9 percent copper and 25 grams per tonne of silver, the company said in a press release.

It also said that Metallurgical tests showed 80 percent copper recovery and 61 percent silver recovery. Early plans include building an open-pit mine producing 1,000 tons per day.

Drilling is expected to begin within the next two weeks, with assay results to follow shortly after, the statement said.