The Ammas, Takzim Est and Arfa licences cover 87.55sq.km and are all valid for an initial three-year term, which could be renewed for a further four years thereafter.

Altus CEO Steven Poulton said the licences were strategically located and had been selected on the basis of the company's remote sensing programmes across terrains considered to be prospective for zinc, copper and other base metals.

He said the company's field team had already started exploration at the Ammas licence, which comprised two three-year exploration licences covering 31.75sq.km and was located 30km south of Marrakech in an active mining district and 3km along strike of the Hajjar VMS zinc-copper mine.

"Encouragingly our geologists are reporting the discovery of quartz stockworks and gossanous material in outcropping meta-volcanics and meta-siltstones at Ammas. Once this initial reconnaissance phase of exploration is complete, the field team will move on to Takzim Est and Arfa," Poulton said.

The Takzim Est licence, comprising three exploration licences covering 39.8sq.km, is situated 6km east of Altus' Takzim zinc project in eastern Jebilet, while the Arfa licence in the country's Oriental province consisted of one exploration licence over an area of 16sq.km.

Altus' shares were trading at 7.5p (US9.9c) Tuesday, 5.26% higher than the previous close.