Aya Gold and Silver | Benoit La Salle and Jimmy Connor
Summary
Aya Gold & Silver guides 2026 production to 6.2–6.8 million silver-equivalent ounces (silver plus gold counted as silver), up from 5 million in 2025.
Aya's new Morocco plant runs 30% above its nameplate capacity, underpinning an 11-year, 6-million-ounce mine plan at about $19 AISC (all-in sustaining cost).
Historic residues at its second asset ship at $3–4 million monthly profit and $11 AISC, with 180,000 metres of drilling feeding a June resource update.
With over $100 million in the bank and no hedges, Aya simply declines to sell below $95 — treasury strength replaces hedging during price swings.
The guest expects tightening silver supply against growing industrial and financial demand, calling the ride bumpy but positioning producers holding physical metal well.
Key points on Aya Gold & Silver
- The CEO guides 2026 production to 5.2-5.8M oz of silver at Zgounder plus about 1M oz (plus or minus 10%) from Boumadine, and projects roughly $350M of operating cash flow at $75 silver — enough, he says, to fund Boumadine development without bank financing or hedging.
- Zgounder's new third plant completed its ramp-up in 2025 and runs at 3,700 tpd against 2,700 tpd nameplate (~30% above capacity), lifting output from 4.8M oz in 2025 to a targeted 5.8M oz in 2026.
- An updated Zgounder technical report sets an 11-year mine life averaging about 6M oz per year at roughly $19/oz all-in costs, based on only 2% of the property, per the CEO.
- $36M of planned 2026 capex extends the Zgounder ramp to the granite floor at the base of the deposit (1-3 m of very high-grade material) and pushes plant throughput from 3,700 toward 4,200 tpd.
- At Boumadine, historical residue stockpiles are being shipped at 10,000 t per month for 24 months, earning $3-4M in monthly profit; a resource update is due in June 2026 on top of the current 450M oz silver-equivalent, backed by 180,000 m of resource drilling (18,000 m already completed in January 2026).
Benoit La Salle's takeaways
- Top takeaway He is bullish on silver, arguing that supply will decline this year and next while industrial and financial demand keeps rising, and expects the current price turbulence to settle by around May-June 2026.
- He argues that being well funded (over $100M in the bank) lets Aya avoid hedging or pre-selling: the company sold nothing below $95/oz in Q1 2026 and sells in tranches to beat the monthly average price.
- He frames Zgounder as effectively locked in for 11 years — costs known, profitability set — and says the priority now is finding a second structure to lift production from 6 toward 8-10M oz.
- He argues Boumadine is high-grade and low-cost (all-in costs around $12-13/oz once in production) and says the development approach was changed in January 2026 to accelerate it, funded entirely from Zgounder's cash flow.
- His near-term news-flow roadmap: Q4 and year-end financials at the end of March, Q1 production in April, a NASDAQ listing targeted for Q2 2026, and continuous drill results from 18 rigs throughout the year.
Jimmy Connor's takeaways
- Top takeaway The host frames 2025 as a pivotal year for Aya, citing record production of about 5M silver-equivalent ounces, and steers the interview toward the 2026 optimization and exploration plans.
- He presses for detail on the 200,000 m Boumadine drill program and asks La Salle to lay out the coming months' news flow for investors.