Max Resource Corp.

Name: MAX Verdict Framework Scorecard — AVOID
Item: Max Resource Corp.
Rating: 11
Author: Mining Stock Report

AVOID

TSXV · Copper · Scored Apr 15, 2026

Composite Score 11/25

Management Skin-in-the-Game

2/5

Brett Matich (CEO/President) has held the role since February 2018 and brings over 25 years of mining experience across ASX, TSX, OTCQX, and AIM-listed companies, with a background in engineering. The company executed a landmark Freeport-McMoRan earn-in agreement in May 2024, which validates management's ability to attract a world-class major — a meaningful credibility signal for an otherwise small team.

Publicly available data puts Brett Matich's direct ownership at approximately 3.57% of pre-consolidation shares (roughly equivalent post-consolidation). Aggregate insider ownership across the board could not be independently verified from SEDI filings, and available data suggests total insider ownership likely sits below 10–15%. For a micro-cap explorer, this level of skin-in-the-game is modest rather than strong.

The October 2025 private placement at C$0.10/unit (pre-consolidation) — well below where the stock was trading in early 2025 — and the 4-for-1 share consolidation effective January 20, 2026, both point to a balance sheet that required repair. While the company avoided total dilution by securing Freeport funding for exploration, the sequence of low-priced placements and the consolidation suggest management has had to make difficult equity decisions. Capable team with a marquee partnership, but insider alignment is not a standout feature.

Project Geology Quality

2/5

Sierra Azul (formerly CESAR) hosts no NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate of any category — no Inferred, Indicated, or Measured tonnes have been published. The project remains at the grassroots-to-advanced-exploration stage with no PEA, PFS, or FS. This is the primary constraint on the scorecard under the framework.

The best surface channel sample results at AM-13 (Manto-style target) are legitimately high grade: 1.8% Cu and 7.2 g/t Ag over 48.0m (August 2024) and 1.6% Cu and 6 g/t Ag over 55.0m (February 2025). These are surface channel samples across outcrop, not drilled intercepts, and carry material uncertainty about true width and continuity at depth. The earlier 2023 maiden drill program at URU-C returned a best intercept of 10.6m at 3.4% Cu and 48 g/t Ag — high-grade but narrow, confirming mineralization at depth without defining a resource. The 2025 USD $4.8M exploration budget was entirely focused on drill target development (geophysics, mapping, soil sampling) ahead of first Freeport-funded drill holes, which had not been announced as of April 2026.

Score of 2 reflects the compelling surface grades and Freeport's major-company endorsement while penalising the absence of any resource categorization or economic study. The Freeport earn-in (C$50M total for 80%) validates the geological thesis at the major-company level, but without a drilled resource this cannot score higher.

Capital Structure Health

3/5

Following the 4-for-1 share consolidation effective January 20, 2026, Max Resource has approximately 55.5 million post-consolidation shares outstanding (from 222 million pre-consolidation). Working capital cushion is estimated in the C$2–4M range following the October 2025 non-brokered placement (C$3.4M raised at C$0.40 post-consolidation equivalent). The series of low-priced placements and the consolidation point to a balance sheet that has required periodic repair.

The structural positive is that Sierra Azul exploration is 100% funded by Freeport-McMoRan under the earn-in agreement — Max has no exploration cash burn on its flagship asset. This materially reduces the burn rate versus a typical junior. Warrant overhang exists from prior tranches but details are not fully confirmed; warrants at C$0.31 (pre-consolidation equivalent C$1.24 post-consolidation) that were near expiry may have largely lapsed. No debt. Score of 3: adequate but not strong capital structure — thin cash reserves, some dilution history, but Freeport funding eliminates the largest cash burn item.

Catalyst Proximity

2/5

As of April 2026, no Freeport-funded drill holes at Sierra Azul have been reported. The USD $4.8M 2025 exploration program was entirely dedicated to drill target development — geophysics, mapping, soil sampling at AM-13 and AM-15 — not actual drilling. The 2026 program is described as 'underway' without specific drill dates disclosed. First drill hole results from the Freeport program, when released, would be a binary catalyst on the primary Manto-style AM-13 target.

The company's most recent material news (February 26, 2026) covers the Mora Gold-Silver property, not Sierra Azul, suggesting the flagship copper project has been relatively quiet. Positive developments — the AM-13 open-ended 1,500m x 100m target definition, the AM-15 Manto-style discovery, and the confirmed 2026 program — keep the score above 1. Score of 2: drilling is imminent in geological terms but no drill collar has been announced and the last Freeport-funded drill results on the AM targets have not been published.

Comparable Acquisition Value

2/5

No resource estimate exists, making a conventional NAV or EV/lb calculation impossible. The best available proxy for project value is the Freeport earn-in structure: C$50M in exploration expenditures plus C$1.55M in cash payments for 80% of the project implies an implied 100% project value of approximately C$64M at full earn-in completion. Against a post-consolidation market cap of approximately C$24M (~55.5M shares at ~C$0.44), the stock trades at roughly 0.38x the Freeport-implied project value — superficially attractive, but this ignores that (a) Freeport's earn-in spend goes into the ground, not to Max shareholders; (b) Max retains only 20% after full dilution; and (c) there is no certainty Freeport will complete Stage 2 of the earn-in.

Applying the framework's early-stage guidance (50-60% discount to any implied valuation, or do not calculate NAV), the risk-adjusted project value to MAX shareholders is deeply speculative. No analyst coverage or independent NAV estimates were found. Score of 2: the Freeport imprimatur provides a real valuation floor and channel sample grades are compelling, but the absence of a drilled resource means no reliable P/NAV or EV/lb metric can be established. NAV per share is not calculable.

Analyst Summary

Max Resource Corp (TSXV: MAX) is a pre-resource copper-silver explorer with a district-scale asset in northeastern Colombia backed by a Freeport-McMoRan earn-in agreement. The project — Sierra Azul (formerly CESAR) — covers 120 km of strike across three districts along the Andean Copper Belt. No NI 43-101 resource estimate of any category has been published, and no PEA, PFS, or FS has been completed. Study level: pre-resource. Composite score: 11/25 — AVOID.

The highest-quality surface channel samples at AM-13 return 1.8% Cu over 48m and 1.6% Cu over 55m, with earlier 2023 drill results confirming 10.6m at 3.4% Cu and 48 g/t Ag at depth. These are genuinely high-grade results for the deposit type, but channel samples are not drill intercepts and no resource has been defined. The USD $4.8M Freeport-funded 2025 program was focused entirely on preparing drill targets — actual Freeport-program drill holes have not been reported as of April 2026. First diamond drill results from the Freeport program remain the key binary catalyst.

The 4:1 share consolidation (January 20, 2026) reduced shares to ~55.5M post-consolidation. The stock trades at approximately C$0.44, market cap ~C$24M. Insider ownership is modest (~3–4% for the CEO), balance sheet is lean, and several low-priced placements point to ongoing equity dilution risk. The Freeport earn-in is the key structural positive: it funds exploration and provides a credibility signal. Without drill results or a resource estimate, MAX is a high-risk speculation on geological exploration success and the Freeport relationship. AVOID until first Freeport-funded drill results are published.

Company

Exchange / Ticker: TSXV:MAX
Jurisdiction: Northeastern Colombia
Primary Commodity: Copper
Website: https://www.maxresource.com

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