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Morocco

Geological Survey of Morocco (Direction du Développement Minier)
Ministère de l'Energie, des Mines, de l'Eau et de l'Environnement
B.P. 6208, Rabat - Instituts
Phone:  +212-537 68 87 02      
Fax: +212-537 68 87 47 
Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM)
5, avenue Moulay Hassan, B.P. 99, Rabat
Phone: +212-37 23 98 98
Fax: +212-37 70 94 11
http://www.onhym.com

Morocco Mining Regulation


Source: CIA Factbook


Geology

The geology of Morocco can be subdivided into four structural domains. These are from south to north The Anti-Atlas Domain, the Meseta Domain, the Atlas belt Domain and the Rif Domain. Whereas the Rif Domain (or Mediterranean Morocco) is part of the vast Alpine System of Europe and North Africa, the other domains (African Morocco) are essentially of West African affinities. The various assemblages range in age from Palaeoproterozoic to Cenozoic-Recent however the older units are only found as inliers within the Anti-Atlas Domain comprising augen-gneisses and other metamorphics succeeded by quartzites, meta-sandstones and marbles. Apart from these structural units, depositional basins filled with Mesozoic and Cenozoic tabular sediments are recognisable along the Atlantic coast.

Mining

Morocco was the third ranked world producer of phosphate after China and the USA accounting for 16.8% of world production. It was the world’s leading exporter of phosphate rock, phosphate derivatives and phosphoric acid accounting for about 27% of the overall world market. Morocco and the Western Sahara have an estimated 38% of the world’s reserves and 45% of the reserve base of phosphate rock. In addition the country has produced a wide variety of minerals which include barytes, coal, cobalt, copper, feldspar, fluorspar, gold, gypsum, iron ore, lead, manganese, mercury, natural gas, nickel, petroleum, pyrophyllite, salt, silver, strontium, talc and zinc. Morocco was Africa’s leading producer of silver (59.9%), barytes (89.9%) and bentonite (31.8%); the 2nd largest producer of mined zinc (23.8%), lead (31.5%) and pyrophyllite (24.2%), 3rd largest for cobalt (8%) and gypsum (9.4%), 4th largest for fluorspar (9.4%) and feldspar (7.14%), 5th largest for manganese (0.9%), pig iron and steel and the 7th largest for iron ore, copper and salt. In terms of world production Morocco contributed 9.1% of the barytes (ranked 3rd), 2.5% of the cobalt (ranked 8th) and 1% each of fluorspar (9th), silver (9th) and lead (12th). It was Africa’s sole producer of mercury accounting in 2008  for about 0.7% of world production (ranked 7th).

Oil & Gas

Morocco is a relatively small producer of petroleum and natural gas, and is North Africa’s leading importer of hydrocarbons, mainly from Algeria. At the beginning of 2009 proven reserves of crude oil and natural gas stood at just over 100,000 tonnes and 1.5 billion m3 respectively. The country also has a substantial oil shale resource including the deposits of Tarfaya (c. 86 Gt) and Timahdit (c. 18 Gt).
According to 2006 estimates Morocco has proven oil reserves of 1.07 million barrels and natural gas reserves of 60 billion ft3, and may have additional hydrocarbon reserves, as many of the country's sedimentary basins have not yet been explored

Maps and images

References

Academic Geological Research
Other commercial geology sites
  • Minerals and fossils from Morocco for sale..
  • OCP Group (Groupe Office Cherifien des Phosphates), Morocco: phosphate deposits and processing sites in Morocco.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The current mining legislation in Morocco is based on the Mining Law (1951) and is enforced through executive orders and the Directorate of Mines. In Morocco, mining(except for phosphates) can be carried out by any individual or corporate entity, regardless of their nationality. 

The current regulatory framework: 

• Mineral substances are the property of the State and are classified in 8 categories.

• Mining is regarded as a commercial activity and is governed by the principle of free enterprise. The operating regulations provided for in the legislation are designed to ensure that the deposits are developed rationally and profitably.

• The right to work a mine is generally obtained on a first-come first-served basis for all mineral substances, with the exception of phosphates, which remain a State monopoly.

Licensing:

1. Exploration permit
• Valid for an initial period of 3 years, renewable for another 4 years.
• Area: 16 km².
• Gives the holder the right to explore and to determine the presence of one of the classified substances.

2. Mining permit
Valid for an initial period of 4 years, renewable for three 4-year periods with the possibility of a special extension beyond this period for up to 12 years. Issued if workable deposits are discovered. Entitles the holder to mine and use the  substances of the category for which it is granted. 
The mining legislation and regulations  are currently under reform.

INCENTIVES
• Customs duty and tax exemptions on imported equipment.
• A 50% reduction on corporate or income tax for mining companies that  export their mining products, whether directly or indirectly.
• A State contribution to infrastructure requirements (including roads, water supply and electricity) of between 50% and 70% of total costs.

Lhou Maacha, General Manager, Exploration, Generation Projects and Performance Management, Managem, in August 2012:

Why should mining companies invest in Morocco?

Morocco is one of the most unexplored countries in Africa and in the world. Since Morocco’s first geological survey in 1921, less than 20% of the country has been mapped and only 16% covered by exploration and mining permits.
Several mines are currently running, including phosphates , base metals (copper, zinc, lead) precious metals (gold, silver), special metals (cobalt , nickel) , industrial minerals (fluorspar, barites, bentonite, gypsum, talc , perlite…) and recently iron. Even if the country is underexplored, there are many advanced projects mainly hold by state owned Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) and private local and foreign companies. Those projects include Rare elements (RRE), Niobium, Tin, Copper, Manganese, Iron and others commodities. More recently, a private mining company, MANAGEM, developed strong prospects in the south including porphyry copper deposit and Sedimentary Stratabound copper and silver deposit. Those deposit models show the importance of Morocco and give evidence of its potential to emerge as a significant mining country in Africa. 

Conditions for foreign investment? 

Foreign investment and private participation is encouraged across several sectors, including most areas in the mining and mineral industries. The government acts as a facilitator and regulator of activities and establishes an environment to attract direct investment which should ensure a sustainable contribution to economic growth. In this sense and more than ever, state institutions are aware that the mining sector should play a major role in a human development process that Morocco has recently launched “Initiative National Pour Le Development Humain” - especially in the rural environment. The exclusion here is that one of the few areas especially reserved for the state is phosphates mining. An exploration database, containing information gathered from more then 80 years of geological, geochemical and geophysical investigation is maintained, mainly at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, in Rabat. Most of this data is available in digital format.

How are the local infrastructure arrangements?

Concerning infrastructure, Morocco has the best paved road network in North Africa. It has more than 70 000 km of paved roads throughout the country. For instance, mining operations are accessible and less than one hour from cities. It’s strategic geographic location with the Atlantic Ocean in the west and Mediterranean sea in the north is a real strength to be considered by all industries. Port facilities are very good, at Tangier which is the second largest in the Mediterranean region, Casablanca, Agadir, Kenitra, Safi and Mohammedia. In the last few years, Morocco worked assiduously to improve power supplies with the biggest solar power plan in the world under construction. Morocco‘s financial and banking system is multinational with locals and many foreign operators that make it in a sophisticated level. Mining legislation is very attractive and enables foreign companies to access licenses, explore and operate mines under advantageous conditions.
Investors are free under the current legislative framework to buy, sell and transfer assets.

The Moroccan geological opportunity:

Morocco’s geology is favorable and contains a diverse range of metals. In fact, Morocco is located on the NW edge of the West African Craton and shows more than six major metallogenic epochs:

1. A little studied Birimian epoch is materialized by some banded iron formations (BIF) with gold showings and copper and gold related to shear zones. Those occurrences are similar to the Birimian formations hosted gold deposits of West Africa.

2. A metallogenic epoch setting up of ophiolites of Bou Azzer inlier. It combines podiform chromite and PGE deposits, the nickel and chromium magmatic mineralization. And the primary mineralization of gold and palladium of the Farwest BLEIDA deposit.

3. A late-Pan-African metallogenic epoch similar to that of Arabo- Nubian chain. This is the most fertile epoch. Several types of deposits are associated with particular types of porphyry deposits and epithermal type. The porphyry-type deposits of copper and gold in Tiouit and associated copper molybdenum in Bouskour belong to this system. The Bou Azzer cobalt mine which is the highest grade in the world and Imiter silver mine are ephithermal deposit types. Many other occurrences of gold, copper and silver recognized in the Moroccan Anti Atlas are probably related to the same system and require big potential to be explored.

4. A metallogenic epoch in relation to marine infracambrian transgressions. It is famous by SSC-type mineralization of copper and silver that have developed across the Anti-Atlas where more than 40 occurences are localized. This mineralization shows similarities with those of the DRC and the Shaba copper belt of Zambia.

5. A volacogenic massive sulphide deposits are well developed in the Moroccan Meseta . Tons of them, actually under exploitation, are thirty minutes away from Marrakech city.

6. Another metallogenic system is associated to the Caledonian and Variscan phase. It is by vein type mineralization and combined with precious and base metals. Many deposits are under production across the country.

REVIEW OF THE MINERAL SECTOR FOR THE YEAR 2010 (ONHYM)
Internationally, world trade in phosphates, in all forms recorded in the year 2010 a 27% increase over 2009. Thus, world exports of raw phosphate reached 27.8 MT at the end of December 2010 , up 50% over the same period in 2009. Morocco remains the world's largest exporter of phosphate rock with a market share of 37%. As for phosphoric acid, world exports recorded during the year 2010, an increase of 5%. Moroccan exports increased by 17% instead of consolidating Morocco as a global market leader of phosphoric acid with half of the exports of this material. With regard to phosphate fertilizers, world exports reached 11 Mt P2O5 in 2010, up 15% from 2009. Moroccan exports have doubled, placing Morocco in third place behind the United States of America and China with a market share of 16%. For base metals, the world experienced a dramatic upturn supported by a renewed investor confidence which is a point of attraction especially in mineral exploration and could encourage the return of mergers – acquisitions. However, the market is still influenced by the continued strong Chinese demand. On the precious metals market, the price of gold and silver ended the year with a bang in 2010 to reach record punctuated by peaks , taking advantage of strong demand and attractiveness as a safe haven against the weakening dollar.
MINING
GENERAL DATA
The mining sector is an essential component of the national economy, thanks to the existence of a favourable geological setting which led to the development of mining in many parts of the Kingdom. The importance of this sector is reflected in its contribution to GDP, its share in national exports and its benefits on the regional and rural development. In 2010, the mining sector contributed 6% to GDP and 27% of the value of national exports. The satisfactory results of the sector in Morocco that provide a place among mining-based countries, are consolidated by development policies of mining research and geological infrastructure, promotion of mining projects, diversification of production, modernization of methods and means of extraction, as well as the vocational training policy. In Indeed, Morocco has large reserves of phosphate and a phosphate industry has developed conferring the ranks of leading exporter and third largest in the world. Morocco is also occupies a prominent place in the world for a number of mineral substances. However, the phosphate mining off now faces several challenges, including the need to discover new mineral deposits, to optimize the exploitation of minerals exploited and to ensure its sustainable development. These challenges are exacerbated by endogenous globalization of the economy where the competitiveness of Moroccan mining products must be maintained in highly competitive markets and unstable. Given these considerations, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Water account of the Environment to review the national strategy covering all mining activities upstream and downstream of the mine, placing the active and responsible private sector in the process of mine development while strengthening the role of the state in the basic infrastructure, regulation and promotion.
MINING EXPLORATION
Achievements of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) in mineral exploration were for precious metals, base metals and industrial minerals and rocks .Indeed, during 2010 the work of the concerned ONHYM 17 goals, 9 for precious metals, 5 for base metals and energy substances and 3 for industrial rocks and minerals. Work in partnership has, in turn, interested 12 goals including 4 for base metals, precious metals 3, 4 for the industrial rocks and minerals and one for uranium. In addition, three Memoranda of Understanding a Memorandum of Understanding, a farm-and four Convention Amendments have been made during the year. Both projects were transferred to the private sector for their operations. The results of the work's own ONHYM confirmed the value of projects niobium, tantalum, uranium, iron and light rare earths and of Glibat Lafhouda Twihinate (province Awserd), including partial and preliminary estimate of resources has been very encouraging. Several foreign companies have expressed interest in these projects. Work has also certified the importance of the two new prospects to Fe, Nb, Ta, U and LREE in Lamlaga Drag and Farnan Al, which will be subject to a preliminary estimate of resources after the achievement of results campaigns or surveys conducted under construction in 2010 and early 2011. Many anomalies in precious metals, were also subject to control geological work in the southern provinces, Khzama, Bas Draa and Kerdous. The search for platinum continues in the province of Awserd. The search for uranium was intensified in the southern provinces and has identified several interesting clues, including that of Aghracha Awserd in the region. This prospect will be recognized on a test at the beginning of 2011 to confirm his interest. Many anomalies in metals Sn, W, Cu, Pb and Zn, were the subject of geological control in central Morocco and the Western Anti-Atlas. For the industrial rocks and minerals, interesting areas were circumscribed in the provinces of Sidi Kacem and Taza for fibrous clays in the province of Meknes for feldspar and kaolin. The certification of laboratories mines was extended with success depending on the requirements and amendments to ISO 9001. They are certified in accordance with the new ISO 9001 version 2008. Work in partnership concerned the continuation of the feasibility study on Achmmach (Sn) with Kasbah Resources (Australia) and research with Areva for uranium ( France) and bentonite clays with Tolsa (Spain). The development of andalusite deposit of Sidi Bou Othman (province of Kalaat Sraghna) continued in partnership with the Damrec (France) - Ghassoul society (Morocco) and the deposit of zircon Bouissafen (province of Guelmim) is underway with the Chinese company Jiangxi. Furthermore, the development of cottage Zrahina (F-Ba-Pb) continued in partnership with the French-Chaillac Withers. The year 2010 also saw the launch of the program work in partnership to assess and development of Tafrent gold deposit, the company Archean Group (India), indices Ain Kerma-Toufrite (Au, Pb, Zn, Ag) by Agricola Resources (England) and the resumption of development of deposits of Gold-Tizegouine Moumjjoud by Akka Gold Mining (Morocco).Mining was also marked by the continuation of policy research by external services, ie hyperspectral airborne campaign covering the area of the country and Sirwa regional geochemistry in the region Awserd. The campaign has helped to narrow hyperspectral targets in precious metals and base metals which will be the subject of research during 2011. For other mining operators, the actions carried out research and development focus on the reserve replacement of mines and search for new clues and deposits.


Cobalt
YearProductionUnit of Measure% Change
20021453Metric tons, cobalt contentNA
20031391Metric tons, cobalt content-4.27 %
20041600Metric tons, cobalt content15.03 %
20051600
Metric tons, cobalt content
0.00 %
20061500Metric tons, cobalt content-6.25 %
20071600Metric tons, cobalt content6.67 %
20081700Metric tons, cobalt content6.25 %
20091600Metric tons, cobalt content-5.88 %

Source: USGS

Copper

YearProductionUnit of Measure% Change
20025000Metric tonsNA
20034900Metric tons-2.00 %
20044400Metric tons-10.20 %
20053800Metric tons-13.64 %
20064600
Metric tons
21.05 %
20075572Metric tons21.13 %
20085600Metric tons0.50 %

Source: USGS

  • Odyssey Resources Ltd (TSXv: ODX) is exploring the Alous copper-silver property consisting of 34 licenses; 16 staked directly and 100% Odyssey owned, and 18 acquired from the Moroccan government. It covers 6 known copper-silver deposits wih a total resource of 7,993,000 tonnes of which 5,407,000 tonnes are in the indicated category with an average grade of 0,78% Cu containing 95,2 million pounds of copper, and 2,586,000 tonnes are in the inferred category with an average grade of 0.54% Cu containing 31,1 million pounds of copper.
  • Managem has many projects but a key objective is to develop the copper business in Morocco. This will be through its Jbal Laassal and Oumjrane Bouskour operations.
  • Metalex Ventures Ltd operations in Morocco are a joint venture between Metalex and ONHYM (Moroccan Government). Metalex has the majority of the partnership with a 60% contributing interest. The venture covers an area of 17,100 km2 of Archaen Cratonic and Proterozoic rocks which have never been explored before. Part of the project area is the unexplored norther section of an Archaean craton in which diamonds and kimberlite have been found to the south in the Mauritananian part of the craton. The area can be explored by systematic soil and drainage sampling for diamond indicator minerals and geochemical analysis of heavy mineral concentrates.

Morocco2
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Gold in Morocco

Gold Home

YearProductionUnit of Measure% Change
20022747KilogramsNA
20031863Kilograms-32.18 %
20041200Kilograms-35.59 %
20051200Kilograms0.00 %
20061200
Kilograms
0.00 %
20071200Kilograms0.00 %
20081200Kilograms0.00 %
20091200Kilograms0.00 %

Source: USGS

  • Managem, through its subsidiary, Akka Gold Mining Company, started producing gold from the Iourirn gold deposits, 280 kilometers south-east of Agadir, in 2001.
  • Sanu Resources Ltd (SNU.V) has been granted thirteen exploration licenses in four blocks covering 52 square kilometers in the Nador-Al Hoceima area of north-eastern Morocco. The staked areas cover four distinct Miocene alkalic volcanic centers with significant areas of pyritic mineralization, argillic alteration and silicification and the possibility of epithermal gold deposits.
  • Office National de Hydrocarbeure et Des Mines, the Moroccan governments' exploration and mining agency, owns the Tafrent deposit with a current published resource of 5,6 million tonnes at an average grade of 1,22 grams per tonne gold.
  • Odyssey Resources Ltd (TSXv: ODX) is exploring is the Talouine gold property, located in the southern Anti Atlas, west and on strike of the Tafrent gold deposit. The property consists of three exploration licenses for a total of 48 square kilometres. It is also investigating the Tizintfirst copper-gold property, which comprises of a single, 16 square kilometre exploration license hosting a gold and copper bearing gossan.
  • Kasbah Resources is exploring the Tamlalt Gold deposit ilocated at the eastern end of the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains, approximately 300km south of the town of Oujda. The Tamlalt gold deposit mining property is covered by eight exploration permits covering a total surface area of 128km2. Diamond drilling shows that the morphology of the Tamlalt deposit consists of a multiple veined quartz system developed within a chlorite-sericite altered folded porphyritic body. Within the 400m of strike length that has so far been drill-tested, gold mineralization has been intersected to within 12m of the surface and to a maximum depth of 360m vertical from surface.
 Iron Ore

Year
Production
Unit of Measure
% Change
2002
8.736
Thousand metric tons
NA
2003
6.300
Thousand metric tons
-27.88 %
2004
9.899
Thousand metric tons
57.14 %
2005
9.899
Thousand metric tons
0.00 %
2006
9.899
Thousand metric tons
0.00 %
2007
9.899
Thousand metric tons
0.00 %
2008
9.899
Thousand metric tons
0.00 %
2009
9.5
Thousand metric tons
-4.04 %

Source: USGS

Lead

YearProductionUnit of Measure% Change
200338600Metric tons, lead contentNA
200431300Metric tons, lead content-18.91 %
200545800Metric tons, lead content46.33 %
200653000Metric tons, lead content15.72 %
200744800Metric tons, lead content-15.47 %
200840000Metric tons, lead content-10.71 %
200940000Metric tons, lead content0.00 %

Source: USGS

  • Truffle Capital, a Paris-based equity company that describes itself as a pioneer investor in the energy sector, and Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), an international private equity firm based in the US, paid US$53 million for a 100% stake in Compagnie Miniere de Touissit (CMT).
    CMT specialises in the exploration, extraction and treatment of silver-bearing lead and silver-bearing zinc. It works several underground mines and operates an ore treatment plant at Tighza, southeast of Meknes.
    The investment was made through newly established Osead Maroc Mining, formed in July after Truffle Capital and Moroccan Infrastructure Fund (MIF) - controlled by ECP and Attijari Invest - acquired the controlling stake in the Mining Company of Touissit.
    Attijari Invest is the private equity arm of Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco's largest bank and the eighth largest bank in Africa.

Oil and Natural Gas

Click HERE for an overview

Oil & Gas Exploration
  • Office National de Recherche et d'Exploitations Pétrolières (previously ONAREP, state oil company; now part of ONHYM). MBendi file on ONHYM/ONAREP.
  • Report about Moroccan energy resources (by the US Department of Energy)
  • Jurassic of Nova Scotia and NW Africa (by Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board)
  • Oil and gas activities, incl. petroleum news (MBendi): Introduction, Exploration.
  • Oil & Gas Exploration data / reports offered by First Exchange.
  • Seismic Survey offshore Morocco (Safi to Rabat area) by TGS-NOPEC (map).
  • Manfred Hauptmann International Geological Consulting: Moroccan petroleum systems, facies analysis, sequence stratigraphy, palaeogeography.
  • Vanco Energy Company, Safi Haute Mer & Ras Tafelney Offshore.
  • Energy Africa.
  • Repsol.
  • The hydrocarbon habitat of the Agadir basin offshore Morocco (D.M. Truempy and S.C. Reeve, Shell International E & P Deepwater Services, Houston, TX).
  • Maghreb Petroleum Exploration S.A. (MPE): a Moroccan company carrying out petroleum exploration and production activities on- and offshore Morocco.
  • Deep-water Scotian slope assessment: a press release from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board. Not Morocco, but as the Nova Scotia margin is the conjugate to Morocco, and the subject is deep-water exploration, this may be of interest to some people. A summary of this document is available in pdf format, or the full article can be downloaded from the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board website.
According to January 2006 estimates by the Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), Morocco has proven oil reserves of 1.07 million barrels and natural gas reserves of 60 billion cubic feet (Bcf). Morocco may have additional hydrocarbon reserves, as many of the country's sedimentary basins have not yet been explored.
Morocco produces small volumes of oil and natural gas from the Essaouira Basin and small amounts of natural gas from the Gharb Basin. Consequently, Morocco is the largest energy importer in northern Africa. The country’s total yearly costs for energy imports range from $1- $1.5 billion. However, high oil prices in 2005 increased import costs to approximately $2 billion for the year. In 2003, the Moroccan government announced that foreign companies could import oil without paying import tariffs. This followed a 2000 decision, in which, Morocco modified its hydrocarbons law in order to offer a 10-year tax break to offshore oil production firms, and to reduce the government's stake in future oil concessions to a maximum of 25 percent. The entire energy sector is due to be liberalized by 2007.
The Moroccan Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining (ONHYM) has become optimistic about finding additional reserves - particularly offshore - following discoveries in neighboring Mauritania. At the end of 2005, 19 foreign companies were operating in Morocco, with an estimated total investment of $56 million per year.

Recent activity in Western Sahara, which is believed to contain viable hydrocarbon reserves, has been controversial. In 2001, Morocco granted exploration contracts to Total and Kerr-McGee, angering Premier Oil and Sterling Energy, which previously had obtained licenses from the Polisario government. In 2005, the government-in-exile of the Western Sahara invited foreign companies to bid on 12 contracts for offshore exploration, with hopes of awarding production sharing contracts by the end of 2005. Both Premier Oil and Sterling Energy received conditional exploration rights. Foreign companies operating under Moroccan concession in Western Sahara have become targets of international protest campaigns. These companies include Total, Wessex Exploration Ltd, Svitzer (the British subsidiary of the Dutch company Fugro), Wales' Robertson Research International and Norway's TGS Nopec. All have ended their operations in Western Sahara, with the exception of Kerr-McGee. As of November 2005, the company was the last to be drilling in Western Sahara, although the Polisario government has pressured it to pull out.
  • Oil production: 300 bbl/day (2005 est.)
  • Oil proved reserves: 100 million bbl (2006 est.)
  • Natural gas production: 50 million cu m (2004 est.)
  • Natural gas proved reserves: 1.218 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
  • In March 2004, Calgary-based Stratic Energy Corporation committed to a three-year exploration program in two onshore blocks in northwest Morocco. The two concessions cover approximately 1,544 square miles.
  • In April 2004, Norway's Norsk Hydro signed a 12-month exploration contract for the Safi Offshore Northwest zone, while Denmark's Maersk signed an eight-year agreement for eight blocks near Tarfaya.

World exports of raw phosphate reached 27.8 MT at the end of December 2010 , up 50% over the same period in 2009. Morocco remains the world's largest exporter of phosphate rock with a market share of 37%.. As for phosphoric acid, world exports recorded during the year 2010, showed an increase of 5%.. Moroccan exports increased by 17% consolidating Morocco as a global market leader of phosphoric acid with half of the exports of this material. With regard to phosphate fertilizers, world exports reached 11 Mt P2O5 in 2010, up 15% from 2009. Moroccan exports have doubled, placing Morocco in third place behind the United States of America and China, with a market share of 16%.
  • OCP group has exclusive access to the world’s largest phosphate reserves, mined at the Benguérir, Khouribga and Youssoufia mines totaling 85 billion cubic meters of reserves in central Morocco. OCP plans to increase its rock production capacity from 30 to 50 million tons as well as increase its downstream fertilizer production through targeted strategic partnerships, especially in the Jorf Phosphate Hub (JPH) where infrastructures are being developed to host 10 additional units. The development will eventually include several chemical plants and will increase Morocco’s ability to process locally mined raw phosphate into value-added derivatives, such as phosphoric acid and fertiliser. Four new mines are expected to be completed and operational by 2017 as well as four new fertiliser plants, which will enable Morocco to triple its fertiliser output to 9m by 2020. The company has also recently begun construction of a phosphate washing plant in El Halassa. The project, which aims to increase productivity at the local Khouribga mine, will make it the largest facility of its kind in the world
 Tin
  • Tin developer Kasbah Resources has increased the measured resource at its Achmmach project, in Morocco, by some 220% and its measured resource by some 168%, it was reported in September 2013. The ASX-listed Kasbah reported that the measured resource had increased from 500 000 t to 1.6-million tonnes, while the measured resource increased from 6 000 t to 16 100 t. “The recent 20-m spaced infill drill programme has successfully achieved a 220% increase in the measured tonnage of the key high-grade core at Achmmach. This level of detail in an area planned for early mine development is critical for mine planning purposes,” said Kasbah MD Wayne Bramwell. He noted that in addition, the 40-m spaced programme had provided a high resolution view across the total 1.6 km of strike of the Miknes Trend. “Importantly, the drilling shows that this tin system remains open at depth, and in conjunction with the parallel Sidi Addi trend, are very prospective for potential additional resource and mine life extensions.” Bramwell pointed out that the definitive feasibility study was the next milestone in the development of the Achmmach project, and was on track for completion by the fourth quarter of this year. The definitive feasibility study was looking at the development of a one-million tonne a year underground mine, concentrator and associated infrastructure. First tin from Achmmach was planned for 2015. The Bou El Jaj Tin Project (“BLJ”) is a significant tin target that is approximately 15km from the Achmmach Tin Project. BLJ extends from Achmmach and is the southernmost extension of a mineralized corridor that is approximately 2.5 to 3km wide and nearly 12km long in strike. Unlike most of Achmmach, BLJ has a strong surface geochemical signature for tin.  Outcropping tin mineralization is evident along 2,100m of strike length with 3,100km of prospective tourmaline altered rocks. The transfer of the BLJ permits (Exploration Permit PR 2137803 and PR1937887) to Kasbah’s 100% owned Moroccan subsidiary was completed in March 2012. The initial 5,000m drilling program at BLJ commenced in September 2012.
 Core from the Achmmach tin project being examined with a XRF analyzer
 Uranium
  • Toro Energy Limited (Australian) announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Moroccan Government for an exclusive prospect evaluation study over regions containing historic uranium mineralisation in Morocco. Under the terms of the agreement, Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines has granted Toro exclusive evaluation and review rights for a six month period, covering 30 permits in three regional areas: Haute Moulouya-Ment, Wafaga and Sirwa (Zgounder) Morocco has known historical uranium occurrences delineated by Russian and French exploration which ceased in 1982 and production of uranium is believed to have occurred from the Zgounder silver mine. More than 100 uranium occurrences have been previously identified.
  • Areva NC (COGEMA) signed an agreement in October, 2007, with the Office Cherifien Des Phosphates (OCP), a Moroccan mining and chemical industries conglomerate, that will see it extracting uranium contained in the country's phosphate rocks. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) figures put Morocco's uranium resources in phosphate deposits at around six million tons, which corresponds to twice the world's resources in uranium deposits. OCP, a state-owned agency formed in 1920, is solely responsible for the Benguérir, Khouribga and Youssoufia mines in central Morocco. The country's enormous measured phosphorite resources of 85,000 Mt are hosted in Upper Cretaceous, Palaeocene and Eocene sediments, and sequences comprising clays, marls, limestones and cherts contain several phosphate-rich beds. Mineable phosphate-rich beds range from one to three metres in thickness and grades from 22% to 28% P2O5. Morocco produces more than 23 million tons of ore per year.

Zinc

Posted by Carel van der Merwe at 14.4.07