Arizona-Sonora Gold-Silver Explorer Set for Dual Maiden Resource Estimates in Q3/26
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Disclosures for Atrium Research, Aztec Minerals Corp., June 2, 2026

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On June 2, 2026, Ben Pirie and Nicholas Cortellucci, CFA, of Atrium Research initiated coverage with a BUY rating and CA$0.45 price target on Aztec Minerals Corp. (AZT:TSX.V; AZZTF:OTCQB), implying 105% upside from the June 2, 2026 closing price of CA$0.22, because the company is positioned to deliver maiden mineral resource estimates (MREs) on both of its pre-resource gold-silver assets in Q3/26, creating two clear near-term catalysts ahead of a potential re-rating.

Aztec is advancing two North American projects simultaneously. The flagship is the 85%-owned Tombstone Project, a brownfield, past-producing open-pit oxide gold-silver asset in Arizona's historic Tombstone Mining District, which produced roughly 32Moz of silver and 250Koz of gold between 1878 and 1939. The 100%-owned Cervantes Project in Sonora, Mexico, is a heap-leachable oxide gold-copper porphyry target along a 6km mineralized corridor. Both maiden MREs and supporting NI 43-101 technical reports, being prepared by APEX Geoscience, are targeted for release in late Q3/26 ahead of the Beaver Creek Precious Metals Summit in September.

Two MREs in Q3/26

The Tombstone resource will be supported by more than 25,000m of drilling across 130+ holes completed since 2020, while Cervantes will be based on roughly 12,200m across 73 holes at the California target.

The analysts note that with AZT trading at a sub-CA$50M market cap and set to deliver two maiden resources in the coming months, there is a meaningful opportunity for a re-rating in an ever-tightening gold and silver market, while parallel advancement of two projects reduces single-asset dependency.

Tombstone Scale and De-Risking

The active 22,000m drill program is the largest in the company's history, having been expanded three times from an initial 5,000m plan. As of late May, 68 RC holes and 9 core holes had been completed, with 14 RC holes and 3 core holes pending assays. Drilling has extended the Contention oxide trend to over 1km of strike and up to 0.4km of width into the newly discovered Westside zone, with first-pass drilling at Ingersoll, Hard-up, and Independence testing targets more than 1km from the historic pit. Every hole drilled since 2020 has intersected shallow oxide gold-silver mineralization. A separate, longer-dated thesis centers on a deeper, undiscovered porphyry/CRD source system, supported by 2024 geophysical anomalies identified at roughly 600m to 800m depth beneath the Contention pit.

The report frames Tombstone's jurisdictional setup as an underappreciated advantage: the bulk of the project sits on patented (private) land in Cochise County rather than federal BLM ground, with permitting governed at the county level. AZT pays roughly US$15K per year in county property tax, requires no permitting to build roads or mechanical infrastructure, and only short notice before drilling. Combined with Arizona's top-10 ranking in the most recent Fraser Institute survey, the analysts describe this as one of the lightest regulatory frameworks available to a U.S. explorer, contrasting it with the multi-year permitting timelines most BLM-based U.S. peers face.

Cervantes

Cervantes is a 3,649ha property roughly 160km east of Hermosillo, with standout intercepts including 1.49 g/t Au over 137m and 1.00 g/t Au over 165m within the broad oxide cap.

It sits among established operations, including Alamos Gold Inc.'s (AGI:TSX; AGI:NYSE) Mulatos mine 60km east, Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.'s (AEM:TSX; AEM:NYSE) La India mine 45km west, AXO Copper's (AXO:TSXV) San Antonio project 35km northeast, and Minera Alamos Inc.'s (MAI:TSX.V; MAIFF:OTCQB) Santana deposit 40km northwest.

The analysts expect Cervantes to be the smaller of the two initial resources but see optionality through future exploration, a potential spinout, or a sale to a regional operator, noting Alamos Gold is already a shareholder in AZT.

Management & Ownership

AZT is led by President & CEO Simon Dyakowski, CFA, MBA, who has over 18 years of corporate development and capital markets experience, and VP Exploration Allen David Heyl, a Certified Professional Geologist with 38+ years of experience tied to discoveries totaling over 30Moz of gold and 25Mt of copper.

The team also includes Senior Technical Advisor Mark Rebagliati, a Canadian Mining Hall of Fame member, and Director Patricio Varas, who played a key role in the discovery of the Diavik Diamond Mine. Insiders hold roughly 14% of the basic share count, with another ~36% closely held by institutional and strategic shareholders, including Alamos Gold, Waratah Capital, Crescat Capital, Paragon IM, and Myrmikan Capital; retail holds the remaining ~50%.

Balance Sheet & Valuation

As of March 31, Aztec held CA$6.5M in cash and no debt, after raising CA$13.6M across two 2025 financings (a CA$3.6M private placement in May and a CA$10.0M bought deal in October). The analysts view the company as funded through its current drill programs and the maiden MREs, with a likely return to the equity market in late 2026 or early 2027. The fully diluted share count stands at roughly 238M.

For valuation, the analysts assume a combined Tombstone and Cervantes resource of 1.2Moz AuEq and apply a US$45/oz multiple — a discount to the peer group average EV/oz of US$68.4/oz and median of US$54.4/oz — to derive the CA$0.45 target. Even at that conservative resource estimate, AZT is described as trading at US$21.1/oz, a meaningful discount to peers. The analysts also flag that advanced-stage U.S. oxide gold deposits have commanded a premium, with six precedent transactions over five years averaging US$258/oz.

Risks

The report rates exploration risk as above average, given that both projects are pre-resource and the investment case rests on two maiden MREs, with Tombstone's wider, lower-grade intercepts sensitive to cut-off grade selection and the deeper CRD/porphyry thesis carrying higher inherent risk. Balance sheet risk is rated below average, jurisdictional risk is low, and dilution risk is average, with the basic share count having grown from roughly 123M at year-end 2023 to about 189M.

Atrium also discloses that it is receiving cash compensation from Aztec Minerals for 18 months of research coverage and that the report was disseminated on behalf of the company, while retaining full editorial control.