Igli Silver Project
The Igli Project is a basalt hosted silver copper deposit in the Anti-Atlas of Central Morocco. Igli is strategically located on the Hercynian fault zone as the Tiwit Mine 6km to the north east and Imiter Mine, one of the highest grade and largest silver mines in the world, 25km north east of Igli. All three mines are on the same structural corridor.
Igli’s is a combination of high grade mineralisation within the shear zones and lower grade mineralisation in the basalt formation. CMR believes there are three potential targets at Igli:
(1) higher grade sub-vertical shear zones
(2) lower grade basalt formation
(3) deeper basement hosted shear zones as found at the Tiwit and Imiter mines
Excellent assay results
Sampling undertaken at Igli by CMR in January and July 2024 were extremely encouraging with high silver and good grades of copper. The photographs below show the basalt mineralisation at Igli where chalcocite crystals within the basalt matrix suggest synvolcanic mineralisation. The silver is associated with the chalcocite.
Potential to be a silver mine
Morocco is well known for its silver production and most of its copper deposits contain some level of silver. The initial sampling programme at Igli suggest it is a silver project with copper as a coproduct, rather than a copper project with silver credits.
| Sample number | Silver | Copper | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01 | 912 g/t | 2.97 % | channel sample |
| 01/02 | 496 g/t | 3.44 % | channel sample |
| 01/03 | 296 g/t | 1.09 % | stockpile |
| 01/04 | 12 g/t | 0.12 % | stockpile |
| 07/01 | 146 g/t | 1.05 % | stockpile |
| 07/02 | 237 g/t | 1.98 % | channel sample |
| 07/03 | 250 g/t | 2.40 % | stockpile |
| 07/04 | 187 g/t | 0.84 % | stockpile |
| 07/05 | 258 g/t | 2.82 % | stockpile |
| 07/06 | 154 g/t | 0.87 % | stockpile |
| 07/08 | 741 g/t | 3.21 % | stockpile |
Source: CMR, Afrilab, January and July 2024
Basalt formation
Initial technical due diligence at Igli has identified multiple mineralised shear structures with high grades of silver, copper oxide and copper sulphide mineralisation. The structures sit within a basalt formation, which is also mineralised, although the lateral extent of the basalt-hosted mineralisation is unknown.
The basalt image on the right shows a chalcocite crystal embedded in the basalt matrix, suggestive of synvolcanic mineralisation i.e. the copper and silver came up with the basalt.
A previous owner of Igli constructed a 28km road to site and initiated the construction of a mining camp. The journey time to site is approximately 2 hours from the nearest large town, and a small village 3km from the property is able to provide certain services.
Basalt hosted copper-silver deposits
Basalt hosted copper and silver deposits are unusual but not unheard of. The best known are the Keweenaw Peninsula copper mines. These are dominated by native copper mineralisation with smaller quantities of silver, so different from Igli.
However there may be similarities in that the copper and silver mineralisation appears to have either been emplaced at the same time as the basalt, or through hydrothermal fluids but in such a way that the matrix of the basalt remain in tact i.e. without an abundance of quartz.
Our work in progress model for Igli is that lower grade mineralisation was emplaced with the basalt, and this was followed by a hydrothermal event which concentrated mineralisation in shear zones.
Mineralised basalt showing quartz fragments which may have been the result of the basalts journey through the underlying rhyolite basement. The basement is thought to be a source of the copper and silver mineralisation.
