Ajax Resources (AQSE:AJAX) announced on Thursday that it expects to receive environmental approval for its planned drilling programme at the Macacha copper and silver project in Salta Province, Argentina, before the end of October.
The Aquis-listed exploration company said both the Provincial Environmental Department and the Provincial Water Resources Department have completed their technical reviews of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) without observations, passing their reports to the Provincial Mining Secretariat in what Ajax called the final milestone in the approval process.
Ajax noted public comments from Gustavo Carrizo, Salta's Secretary of Mining, confirming that an agreement has been reached on the Macacha project, though the company cautioned that the timing of final sign-off rests with provincial authorities and cannot be guaranteed.
Macacha is Ajax's copper-silver project in northwest Argentina, immediately adjacent to the El Salto project the company is seeking to acquire from Madero Minerals, and the company has already funded an initial 5,000-metre drilling programme there with proceeds earmarked for further work once drilling begins. Approval of the EIA will clear the way for that programme to start.
Alongside the permitting update, Ajax said it has engaged Andes Exploration to support the drilling campaign, with its chief executive, Leandro Sastre, appointed Qualified Person for the project.
Sastre spent more than 23 years in mineral exploration across the Andean belts of Argentina and Chile, including a stint as Barrick Gold's Vice President of Exploration for Latin America and Asia-Pacific, and currently serves as Vice President of Exploration at TSX Venture-listed GoldQuest Mining Corp.
"Macacha is a project with a substantial history of exploration and development work, including historical pilot-scale copper production and approximately US$25 million of previous investment," Sastre said, adding that historical drilling at the El Cobre and El Plomo targets returned intercepts including 49.18 metres at 1.477% copper and 47.53 metres at 1.082% copper.
Subject to approvals, the first phase of drilling will prioritise around 1,500 metres across eight holes at El Cobre and El Plomo, Sastre said, with later drilling guided by the results.
Ajax also disclosed that its Argentine subsidiary, Ajax Salta S.A., has applied for a fourth exploration licence, Macacha IV, covering ground adjacent to the existing project, following earlier applications for the Macacha II and Macacha III licences of 2,004 hectares and 3,004 hectares respectively.
Separately, Ajax Salta said it has signed a Letter of Intent with Salta's Ministry of Education and Culture and a local technical institute covering vocational training, professional placements and site visits tied to the Macacha project.
