"The actual king is a very, very good king for the population. He has electrified Morocco, he's doing a lot internally for his country", states Guy Goulet, President and CEO of Quebec-based mining exploration company, Maya Gold & Silver (TSX:MYA). He's talking about King Mohammed VI who came to power in Morocco in 1999 on the death of his father.

Guy Goulet, President and CEO Maya Gold & Silver at the Cambridge House World Resource Conference in Vancouver

Guy is a geological engineer by background, having obtained his degree in Montreal 25 years ago. Since then he has been a director of several companies before joining Maya in his current role 3 years previously. But, why call a company more or less dedicated to exploring Morocco, 'Maya'?

The name came from Maya's initial intention to explore and develop the Baluarte mine in Mexico, having acquired a 99% holding in Metales, a local company. However Maya switched its attention to Morocco at the end of 2009 and the name stuck. Guy certainly appreciates Morocco, "I've been to Morocco - maybe 70 times," he says happily.

Maya's main thrust is now the development of its asset at Amizmiz which is sited about 60 kilometers to the south west of Marrakech in Morocco. It has 5 exploitation permits which are spread over an area of 80 square kilometers. Exploratory drilling has so far returned results of up to 45g/t of gold and the site has an overall NI 43-101 inferred total of 342,000 ounces - but that is just on the bit that Maya have so far explored. "We will process these 350,000 ounces while we are doing the exploration for the whole project.  We are betting on a Carbonate Replacement Deposit Model related to a major structure which is in fact the reflect of these «one to 4 meters» high-grade veins we observe at surface »

Amizmiz doesn't just produce gold, though. The recent acquisition of the Azegour mine attached to the property adds considerable potential for silver, copper, tungsten, molybdenum, zinc and lead.

The fluctuations in the price of precious metals can make dramatic changes as Guy knows. "We have seen many gold mines that were shut down in 1999 and silver mines go the same way in 2003/2004," he relates. However, the wind of change can blow both ways and, "today, with the actual price of those metals, a lot of those projects could be put back into production," he suggests.

Apart from the main site at Amizmiz, Maya Gold & Silver are always on the ‘qui vive’ for more properties in Morocco. "We've acquired 4 of them so far and we're looking for some other projects," Guy admits. He sees Morocco as a real growth location:

Amizmiz, Maya Gold & Silver Project

"Peru had a wave, Mexico had a wave, Australia had a wave and, Morocco is the next wave, they're democratizing the mining system."

This is where King Mohammed VI comes in, well backed up by a dynamic qualified Minister of Mines and Energy, Madame Benkhadra, who possesses a solid background in the mining business.  Morocco has a number of key things going for it - the constitutional monarchy, the most Europeanization country of Africa, a halving of tax for mining companies, and state grants for infrastructure-related projects.

Not only that, The Minister Benkhadra is attempting to level the playing field by introducing a new mining code and strategy.  She is also helping in other ways - through reform of the employment system such that now only 9% of the work-eligible population of Morocco is unemployed. "The king wants to give work to those people," says Guy, "therefore a company like ours is welcome."

The country's political stability and solid employment foundation factors are what Guy is recommending potential stockholders take into account when considering buying into Maya. "We need to show investors how stable this country is compared to their neighbors," he says.

According to Guy, one of Maya's key strengths is the experience and knowledge of its Africa team. It's particularly helpful working alongside people like Executive Vice-President Noureddine Mokaddem who was key in the development of Akka Gold Mining and the Guemassa Mining Complex – two of the most important projects that have been achieved in Morocco.  With its 27 years of experience in the sector, he has great Cartesian skills to manage projects from exploration phases to building integrated production complexes going through feasibility study.

Maya has 49m shares outstanding. The current share price is around $0.40, having risen gradually from its opening price of $0.29 in July 2008. At peak, in December 2010, it was trading at $0.60. As a result, Maya has a market capital of $22m.

But, as Guy says, "It's still a young company. It's only 2 years old and, if you check the board, you've 6 out of 8 members that have put 11 mines into production over the past 20 years and 6 of out of the 8 members of that board have raised more than $0.5bn over the past 15 years."

The potential is very clear. With a favorable government, a committed and trained workforce, a tried and tested code of operations and thousands of square kilometers to explore, there is a great deal to recommend it to both an ambitious mining company and also the keen-eyed investor looking to get in at the beginning.

Morocco is a huge unknown when it comes to what is under the ground. "It's only 10 per cent of the country that has been well-explored - 90 per cent is open for companies like us," Guy declares.

Summary

Guy Goulet is President and CEO of Québecois Company, Maya Gold & Silver. He talks to us at the CIM Conference & Exhibition 2011 about what Morocco has in store for companies looking to benefit from King Mohammed VI’s sweeping reforms and pro-mining attitude.

For more information:

www.mayagoldsilver.com

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