Agadir – The British mining company Aterian plc has reported promising early-stage exploration results from its Agdz East Copper-Silver Project in central Morocco.
The project, part of the larger 50.4 square-kilometer Agdz area, is located in the highly prospective Anti-Atlas Mountains within the Drâa‑Tafilalet region, approximately 35 km east of Ouarzazate, a regional hub with airport access and well-developed infrastructure.
The area also benefits from proximity to the Noor 1 solar power complex, one of the world’s largest renewable energy facilities.
The first round of surface sampling, which so far has covered only about 10% of the Agdz East site, has found several copper-and silver-bearing fault zones. This confirms that the minerals follow a clear structural pattern and suggests that the area of potential mineralisation is larger than previously known.
Charles Bray, Chairman of Aterian, said that “these early-stage results from Agdz Est represent a highly encouraging breakthrough in unlocking the scale potential of the Agdz Copper-Silver Project.”
“The identification of multiple copper and silver-bearing fault zones, all of which remain open along strike, materially strengthens our strong conviction that Agdz hosts a large, structurally extensive mineral system with meaningful exploration upside,” he added in the statement.
Key findings of exploration results:
Four main mineral zones have been identified. They run roughly parallel to each other, stretch up to 900 meters, and are about 7 meters wide in places. These zones are spaced 300-400 meters apart and are mostly covered by thin soil or loose rocks.
Early surface samples show promising copper and silver grades, including:
- 1.39% copper from a 2‑meter-wide rock zone
- 0.51% copper with 7 g/t silver from a small granite outcrop
- 2.97% copper with 51 g/t silver from loose rocks
- 1.34% copper with 31 g/t silver from a fractured granite area about 4 meters wide
The mineral zones are still open at their edges, meaning they could extend further and more discoveries are possible.
Why this matters
The early results show that Agdz East could be part of a much larger copper and silver system in the area, with several mineral zones already identified. Since only a small part of the site has been explored, there’s a significant potential still to be discovered.
In this context Bray stated in the announcement that “mineralisation has been confirmed across only a small portion of the permit area to date, highlighting the significant untapped potential that remains.”
Aterian is also leveraging modern technology to guide its exploration. By partnering with Lithosquare, an AI-based exploration platform, the company can better identify the most promising areas to drill, make faster decisions on where to focus next, and compare Agdz with its other projects.
Bray further explained that “the next phase of work will focus on systematic follow-up, including ground geophysics and trenching, designed to define continuity, expand scale, and prioritise high-quality drill targets.”
Bray concluded saying that “we are particularly excited by the prospect of advancing towards a focused drilling campaign in Morocco, with Agdz emerging as a flagship opportunity within the portfolio. The growing body of geological evidence continues to reinforce our belief that Agdz has the potential to develop into a substantial copper-silver system.”
The chairman concluded by saying that they look forward for this momentum to build and for the site’s value to progressively rise for shareholders.
