Ajax Resources (AQSE:AJAX) has cleared all outstanding technical queries with Argentina's Salta mining authorities on its Environmental Impact Assessment and expects formal approval during July, unlocking the first exploration drilling at the Macacha copper and silver project in close to 20 years.
The natural resources investment company has already launched a tender for the 5,000-metre drilling programme, with field personnel mobilising for preparatory works including drill pad clearance and access preparation in the first week of July.
The programme targets two distinct opportunities: expanding the project's existing near-surface oxide mineralisation and testing the underlying copper sulphide zone, which the company describes as "almost entirely untested" despite analogous sulphide mineralisation having been intersected at a nearby project.
The historical oxide mineral resource estimate stands at 6.6 million tonnes grading 0.62% copper and 18 grams per tonne silver, though Ajax is not treating this as a current compliant resource; a JORC Code (2012) estimate is a stated objective of the programme.
Chief executive Ippolito Ingo Cattaneo said the company's internal exploration objective is to assess the potential to increase the historical resource estimate "by up to five times, although any increase will depend on the results of future drilling and technical evaluation."
Ajax has also applied for two adjacent licence areas, Macacha II covering 2,004 hectares and Macacha III covering 3,004 hectares, adding approximately 5,008 hectares to its district footprint pending approval by the Salta Mining Court.
The company says it is fully funded for the planned exploration programme.
