THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF REGULATION 11 OF THE MARKET ABUSE (AMENDMENT) (EU EXIT) REGULATIONS 2019/310.
8 December 2025
AJAX RESOURCES PLC
("Ajax" or the "Company")
Approval of EIS for Eureka Project & Commencement of Mobilisation
Ajax Resources Plc (AQSE: AJAX) the natural resources investment company, is pleased to announce that the Environmental Impact Study ("EIS") for its 100% owned Eureka Project in Jujuy Province, northern Argentina, ("Eureka") has been formally approved by the Director of Mines and Energy Resources for the Province of Jujuy.
The approval of the EIS represents a key permitting milestone for the Company, and it now allows the commencement of on-ground exploration activities. Mobilisation of personnel, contractors, and equipment to Eureka will now begin.
With the EIS approved, Ajax, through its wholly owned Argentine subsidiary Puna Metals S.A. ("Puna"), will initiate its planned exploration programme. Eureka is drill ready, and various highly prospective anomalies have already been identified by previous operators. High grade copper oxides have been verified at surface, with grades reported up to 6.1% Cu and numerous samples returning more than 0.5% Cu across multiple historical programmes.
Ajax's drilling programme will commence with an initial 1,500 metre diamond drilling campaign, benefiting from and building upon the extensive historical mapping and pitting completed across Eureka by previous owner. This initial programme will be followed by a further 4,000 metres of drilling, guided by these initial results, designed to expand coverage across priority copper and gold targets and advance Eureka toward a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate. Drilling will target shallow geochemical and IP anomalies, as well as a deeper IP chargeability anomaly outlined in a 2014 report authored by SRK Consulting, possibly representing the transition to a sulphide-rich level of the system. Drilling will take place in the immediate vicinity of Mina Eureka, the historic copper and gold mine within Eureka, which has a 400-year history of production and has never been drilled.
Layered Mineral System: Multiple Target Horizons
Eureka contains a layered copper and gold mineral system, with mineralisation controlled by both stratigraphy and structure:
• Eureka Formation (Miocene):
Hosts oxide copper beds developed within fluvial gravels, along with placer style gold at the basal contact. This horizon forms the focus of trenching, geophysics, and shallow drilling.
• Acoite Formation (Ordovician basement):
Lies below and may host sulphide rich feeder systems, to be tested by deeper phases of diamond drilling.
Excellent Heap Leach Amenability
Mineralisation is hosted in weakly consolidated fluvial gravels with low carbonate content, reducing acid consumption and providing favourable characteristics for low-cost copper recovery.
Underexplored Gold Potential
A historic, non-JORC compliant estimate indicates approximately 52,000 ounces of gold within basal conglomerates, with a 2007 NI 43-101 report suggesting placer potential may be several times greater, associated with a broader paleo channel. Ordovician quartz veins present a separate hard rock gold target. Codelco did not evaluate gold during previous work, leaving this upside untested across the district.
Red Bed Analogues: Additional Scale Potential
Eureka shares key geological traits with the Corocoro red bed copper system in Bolivia, which hosts approximately 80 million tonnes at 0.6% Cu. While no assurance is given that Eureka hosts similar size or grade, the geological parallels indicate potential for a larger stratabound system. These concepts will be further evaluated in the upcoming drilling programme.
Historic Resource Indications (Non-JORC)
Historic, non-JORC compliant estimates indicate up to 62 million tonnes at 1% copper and approximately 52,000 ounces of gold within the copper oxide horizon. These figures are conceptual in nature, not JORC 2012 compliant, and must not be treated as current resources or reserves. The drilling programme is designed to test these indications and provide data for a maiden JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate, with publication expected during the first half of 2026.
As previously reported, Ajax's exploration budget for Eureka to 30 June 2026 is approximately £1.4 million, and the Company confirms it is fully funded for this programme. This work represents the first phase of the Company's five-year strategy to advance Eureka toward potential commercial production, subject to a positive independent feasibility study.
Ippolito Ingo Cattaneo, Chief Executive of Ajax, commented:
"The approval of the EIS marks a major step forward for Ajax as we move from preparation into active exploration at Eureka. This is an exceptional opportunity for the Company, with multiple high-quality copper and gold targets that have never been drill tested despite centuries of historic mining activity. Our initial 1,500 metres of drilling, followed by a further 4,000 metres guided by these initial results, will allow us to test both the near surface oxide potential and the deeper sulphide feeder systems that have been highlighted in previous technical work.
The timing of the commencement of activities could not be more favourable as both copper and gold are trading near record pricing, which further enhances the potential strategic value of Eureka.
We are fully funded for the upcoming work, and we intend to engage as many local community resources as possible so that all stakeholders stand to benefit from our operational activities from the very outset.
In anticipation of mobilisation, we have recently fully refurbished the Eureka camp, ensuring that the site is ready to support the commencement of drilling and associated field activities.
We are grateful to the local authorities for their collaboration and support, and we are greatly excited by our work in the Province of Jujuy.
We shall look forward to updating shareholders as we enter the execution phase and begin delivering tangible value through potentially highly material resource definition at Eureka."
- ENDS -
For further information:
| Ajax Resources Plc Ippolito Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer |
Tel: + 44 (0) 208 146 6345 |
| Allenby Capital Limited (AQSE Corporate Adviser) Nick Harriss / Nick Athanas |
Tel: + 44 (0) 203 328 5656 |