Royal Road Minerals Limited has obtained all necessary drilling permits for its Alouana copper-gold polymetallic project in Morocco and has a high potential for copper, gold, and other polymetallic deposits, according to Street Insider.
Encompassing four exploration licenses, totaling 84 square kilometers in Morocco’s eastern region, the Alouana project is managed by Royal Road Arabia Limited (“RRA”), a joint venture between Royal Road and MIDU Company Limited (“MIDU”). Each holds a 50% stake.
MIDU is a Saudi Arabian investment holding company based in Jeddah with diverse interests across sectors such as mining, real estate, and utilities. In October 2023, RRA signed an option agreement to acquire 100% of Izughar Resources S.A.R.L., the Moroccan company holding the Alouana licenses.
Historically, the Alouana site has had small-scale mining operations dating back to the early 20th century, with approximately 45 underground and open-pit workings identified. These operations have focused on copper-gold polymetallic veins, with deposits found in both shallow southwest-dipping shear zones and steep northeast-dipping vein-breccia bodies, some of which are up to three meters wide.
The geology of the region includes Paleozoic schists intruded by Permian granites and porphyry dykes. Mineralization occurs primarily in shear zones and vein-breccia structures. Samples from the site have shown promising results, with copper grades reaching as high as 21% (average 1.31%), gold concentrations up to 5.9 grams per ton (on average 0.2 grams per ton), and silver up to 493.8 ppm.
RRA has already conducted extensive groundwork, including geochemical soil sampling, rock-chip sampling, geological mapping, and ground magnetic surveys, the results of which have driven the selection of initial scout drilling targets across four principal zones:
1. OPZ (Open Pit Zone): Historical open pits and tunnels on Alouana hilltop. Copper and polymetallic mineralization occurs in shear zones and vertical vein-breccia bodies.
2. HTZ (Hill Top Zone): An area southeast of OPZ with no previous workings but showing strong gold geochemical signatures. Soil geochemistry suggests it is an extension of OPZ.
3. VBZ (Vein-Breccia Zone): A 25-meter-wide, 1.5-kilometer-long quartz-barite vein body that is rich in copper and gold.
4. EBZ (Eastern Breccia Zone): Two 1-3 meter-wide, 2-kilometer-long vein-breccia structures containing copper, silver, lead, and bismuth mineralization.
The company plans to initiate a 2,000-meter exploration drilling program, which will commence following the construction of access roads and drill pads. The drilling will test both shallow and steep-dipping targets in these four zones.
Tim Coughlin, Royal Road’s President and CEO, said, “Our initial objective is to establish the thickness of shallow-dipping mineralization in the OPZ, followed by mapping its lateral extent. We are particularly excited about the potential of the Alouana hilltop for future mining operations, with significant copper mineralization extending into wall rocks in EBZ. This drilling program is designed to unlock the full potential of the Alouana deposit.”