Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 2, 2025) - Royal Road Minerals Limited (TSXV: RYR) ("Royal Road" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update of exploration activities at its Lalla Aziza copper project in Morocco.
The Lalla Aziza copper mine is owned by Moroccan mining company, Carbomine SARL ("Carbomine"). In December 2024, Royal Road entered into an Option Agreement (the "Agreement") with Carbomine, which provides the Company with an option to acquire 100% of the Lalla Aziza mining license. Summary terms of the Agreement are provided below.
Lalla Aziza is an underground copper-mine located in Morocco's Western High Atlas, approximately 90 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh (see Figure 1). Sulphide ore (principally chalcopyrite; see Figure 2) is mined from shear-hosted vein- (dolomite) stockworks and breccia, up to 12 meters wide and from three underground levels over a vertical interval of 150 meters. Whole ore is shipped for sale at a cut-off grade of 2.5% copper (Non-JORC compliant, 35 dry-ton ore assay records, minimum 1.0% maximum 5.1% copper).
The mine area is located at the southwestern extent of Carbomine's mining license area (see Figure 1). The mineralized shear-hosted vein-stockworks and breccia are nucleated on or close to carbonaceous schist and dolomite horizons and extend in a northeast direction across the license area for approximately 4 kilometers strike length. There is evidence for syn-mineralization sill-like intrusive bodies emplaced on or close to the shear zone. No previous exploration drilling has been conducted on the license area.
Royal Road has conducted geological mapping, underground and surface rock-chip and channel sampling and portable XRF (pXRF) soil sampling across the Lalla Aziza license area. Detailed findings are presented in Figures 1 and 3. The target concept at Lalla Aziza is a potential open-pit starter incorporating current workings, shear-controlled repeats and extensions in the footwall; immediate down-dip underground extensions below the current-level of the Lalla Aziza mine and folded repeats beneath the hangingwall to the southeast.
88 underground channel samples from 27 separate channels at Lalla Aziza have returned best results of 4 meters at 5.3%, 3 meters at 5.2% and 3 meters at 2.6% copper (mean 2.5% copper, maximum 15.6% copper, minimum 0.003% copper) from sulphide mineralization. Best gold grades appear to be associated with vein-stockwork mineralization in the footwall schist sequence, with the best results returning 3 meters at 1.1 grams per tonne gold and 1.4% copper (mean 0.2 grams per tonne gold, maximum, 3.1 grams per tonne gold, minimum 0.0025 grams per tonne gold). Regional rock-chip sampling from along the shear zone elsewhere in the license area has returned up to 21.9% copper (mean 0.9% copper, minimum 0.003% copper) and 3.0 grams per tonne gold (mean 0.1 grams per tonne gold, minimum 0.0025 grams per tonne gold).
Royal Road is planning to commence up to 2000 meters of drilling at Lalla Aziza and has located drill holes subject to permitting.
Summary terms of the Agreement are as follows:
Royal Road have paid to Carbomine the sum of USD$50,000 upon execution of an initial Letter of Intent (superseded by the Agreement)
Upon execution of the Agreement, Royal Road have paid to Carbomine the sum of USD$200,000
Royal Road have committed to conducting a drilling program at Lalla Aziza, with total aggregate meters dependent upon results and entirely at the discretion of Royal Road
On or before the date being 60 days after the completion of the drilling program, or fourteen days following receipt of all the relevant and final geochemical analyses to the satisfaction of Royal Road (whichever date is later). Royal Road shall have the right to exercise the option to acquire 100% legal and beneficial ownership of the Carbomine mining licence and all mineral interests on the licence area from Carbomine, provided that upon full and unencumbered transfer of legal ownership of the mining licence to Royal Road, Royal Road shall pay to Carbomine the sum of USD$1,500,000
Upon the anniversary of the date on which Royal Road is registered as the legal and beneficial owner of the mining licence, RRM shall pay an annual fee of US$300,000 to Carbomine until the drawdown of project finance for a Bankable Feasibility Study
Upon the completion of the first Bankable Feasibility Study on the mining license and the drawdown of project finance for the purpose of such Bankable Feasibility Study, Royal Road shall pay Carbomine the sum of USD$2,500,000
Upon commencement of commercial production from the mining license, Carbomine shall be granted a net smelter return royalty of 2.5% in total (applicable to all mineral or metallic product extracted and recovered from the mining license) in respect of production from the license
About Royal Road Minerals:
Royal Road Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company with its head office and technical-operations center located in Jersey, Channel Islands. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker RYR and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker RLU. The Company's mission is to apply expert skills and innovative technologies to the process of discovering and developing copper and gold deposits of a scale large enough to benefit future generations and modern enough to ensure minimum impact on the environment and no net loss of biodiversity. The Company currently explores in the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia, Morocco and in Colombia. More information can be found on the Company's website www.royalroadminerals.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
The information in this news release was compiled, reviewed and verified by Dr. Tim Coughlin, BSc (Geology), MSc (Exploration and Mining), PhD (Structural Geology), FAusIMM, President and CEO of Royal Road Minerals Ltd and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101
Cautionary statement:
This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") describing the Company's future plans and the expectations of its management that a stated result or condition will occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or developments in the Company's business or in the mineral resources industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-Looking statements include all disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that is based on assumptions about, among other things, future economic conditions and courses of action, and assumptions related to government approvals, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The words "plans", "prospective", "expect", "intend", "intends to" and similar expressions identify forward looking statements, which may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-Looking statements of the Company contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the Company's exploration plans.
The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only on the date they are made. There is no guarantee that the anticipated benefits of the Company's business plans or operations will be achieved. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: economic market conditions, anticipated costs and expenditures, government approvals, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators or other applicable regulatory authorities. Forward-Looking statements included herein are based on the current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions of the Company management and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control:
Sample preparation and analyses are conducted according to standard industry procedures at certified laboratories. Channel-chip samples were taken from continuous chisel cut channels of at-least 1cm depth. Samples were taken as continuous chips over 1m intervals. Samples were bagged in the field and sent to ALS Seville for analysis of gold by fire assay with an ICP-AES finish (method Au-ICP22) and multielements by four acid digest ICP-MS (method ME-MS61). QAQC materials included CRMs, blanks and duplicates inserted into sample batches on a ration of 1:10.
