Ajax acquisition of the Paguanta15 May 2026 11:00
People are focusing on the extension and ignoring the actual substance of the RNS. To me this reads far more like a deal being carefully finalised than a deal falling apart. The wording is pretty clear: both parties are still working exclusively together, negotiations on the SPA are nearing completion and the company expects completion within the extension period. That is not the language you use if there are major issues with the asset or willingness to transact.
What also stands out is the quality of Paguanta itself. This is not some early-stage blue-sky explorer with a few soil samples. It is a former producing silver mine with a defined JORC resource, existing infrastructure, nearly 47,000m of drilling and over US$31.5m historically spent on the project. The Patricia prospect alone hosts 6.8Moz silver, 265Mlb zinc and 74Mlb lead, with mineralisation still open at depth and along strike.
The copper upside is arguably what makes this even more interesting. The project sits in one of the most important copper belts globally, close to major operations and alongside a neighbouring project where Teck can earn 75% through exploration spend. Majors do not commit capital into districts they do not rate highly.
I actually think the market is underestimating the opportunity Ajax is building here. If management were rushing this through just to satisfy impatient shareholders, I would be more concerned. Instead they appear to be taking time to structure things properly while broader macro themes around silver, copper and nuclear continue improving.
Short-term traders may focus on timelines. Longer-term investors should probably focus on the fact that AJAX still looks very undervalued relative to the scale and quality of assets it is trying to assemble.