Ajax Resources PLC (AQSE:AJAX) has announced a major step in its growth strategy after signing Heads of Terms to acquire 100% of Pereira Velho Exploração S.A., owner of the Pereira Velho Gold Project in Alagoas, Brazil. The seller, Appian Capital Advisory Limited, is a leading mining-focused private equity group with roughly US$5 billion under management.
Upon completion, Appian will become a meaningful shareholder in Ajax, a move the company says underscores confidence in the project and its broader investment strategy.
The deal fits squarely within Ajax’s goal of securing undervalued natural resource assets with clear potential for near-term production. The Pereira Velho project is a near-surface, scalable gold system with an internal Appian estimate of 110,000 ounces across Measured, Indicated, and Inferred categories.
Acquisition Terms and Project Potential
Ajax will acquire the project for US$400,000 in shares and US$200,000 in cash, followed by a further US$1.5 million share-based payment once a JORC-compliant resource of at least 350,000 ounces at 0.20 g/t Au is published. The agreement also includes a 2.5% NSR royalty that only activates after two consecutive quarters with average gold prices above US$2,500/oz, as well as a buyback right priced at US$1.5 million within three years of production start.
Only 10% of the project area has been drilled to date, yet 6,363 meters of past drilling already confirm wide, shallow zones of oxidised, free-gold mineralisation—conditions that could support a low-cost open-pit, heap-leach operation. The project spans 14,596 hectares with a gold-in-soil anomaly extending more than 2.5 km.
Pereira Velho sits roughly 20 km from Appian’s former Serrote copper-gold mine, acquired for US$30 million in 2018 and sold for US$420 million in 2025, reinforcing the region’s strong geological potential.
Fundraise Secured Through Investor Backing
To support the acquisition and ongoing exploration, Ajax plans to raise up to £1 million through a new share issue. Appian will subscribe for the GBP equivalent of US$400,000 at the placing price.
Commitments from existing investors already total £600,000, with the Board contributing an additional £60,000, meaning the fundraising is effectively secured.
Proceeds will accelerate work at Pereira Velho, advance additional acquisition targets, and strengthen working capital.
Appian’s View
In a statement, Appian said: “Appian is pleased to back Ajax and its strategy of advancing high-quality gold and multi-commodity opportunities. We have strong confidence in the company’s management team, and its focus on identifying and developing underappreciated assets with unrealized potential closely aligns with our investment philosophy and commitment to long-term value creation.
This alignment is evident in the Pereira Velho project. In a robust gold price environment, we believe Pereira Velho offers compelling upside. The 6,363 metres of diamond drilling completed to date demonstrate strong exploration potential and reveal a mineralised system that warrants further exploration. Moreover, the project is situated in a highly prospective region where Appian successfully brought Mineração Vale Verde – an attractive mid-scale copper-gold open-pit operation – into production, further reinforcing our confidence in the area’s geological potential.
With this foundation, we look forward to supporting Ajax as it progresses Pereira Velho and other aligned opportunities.”
Comment from Ajax’s CEO
Ajax CEO Ippolito Ingo Cattaneo described the deal as transformational: “We are delighted that Appian, a leading global private equity investor with approximately US$5 billion in assets under management investing exclusively in metals, mining and related natural-resource companies, will become a significant shareholder in Ajax upon completion. This represents a transformational growth opportunity for the Company and an endorsement of our development strategy.
The Proposed Acquisition of Pereira Velho is a compelling, scalable gold production opportunity fully aligned with our strategy of acquiring assets with significant unrealised potential on advantageous terms. It has near-surface mineralisation, a strong recent drilling dataset underpinned by approximately US$5 million in historical expenditure, and a prospective resource base, of which only a small portion has been developed, resulting in an Appian in-house mineral resource estimate of approximately 110,000 ounces across the Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories.
Pereira Velho is in a proven mining district with strong geological prospectivity… With gold prices at or near record levels, we see a clear route for Pereira Velho to achieve its first milestone of 350,000 ounces… and the objective of progressing the Proposed Acquisition to a near-term open-pit gold operation with material resource scale growth potential.”
He added that the new partnership with Appian will open doors to future opportunities from Appian’s large portfolio of high-quality assets and strengthens Ajax’s long-term development pathway.
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