--- title: "Trader’s Café With Zak Mir: The Week In Small Caps, Sunday 2nd August 2026" publisher: "Share Talk" author: "sharetalk" published: "2026-08-02T09:23:30+00:00" modified: "2026-08-02T10:01:54+00:00" date: 2026-08-02 canonical: "https://www.share-talk.com/traders-cafe-with-zak-mir-the-week-in-small-caps-sunday-2nd-august-2026/" category: "B2B" categories: ["B2B", "Blogs", "Technology", "Technology, Media & Telecoms"] tags: ["AFP", "African Pioneer", "Ajax Resources", "Andy Burnham", "BZT", "FTSE 100", "FTSE AiM index", "FTSE Small Cap", "Georgina Energy", "GLR", "KEN", "XTR"] image: "https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/zak-mir-4th-may-25.webp?fit=1200%2C800&quality=80&ssl=1" format: "news" language: "en-GB" --- # Trader’s Café With Zak Mir: The Week In Small Caps, Sunday 2nd August 2026 **Published:** August 2, 2026 **Author:** sharetalk **Categories:** B2B, Blogs, Technology, Technology, Media & Telecoms **Tags:** AFP, African Pioneer, Ajax Resources, Andy Burnham, BZT, FTSE 100, FTSE AiM index, FTSE Small Cap, Georgina Energy, GLR, KEN, XTR **Featured image:** ![](https://i0.wp.com/www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/zak-mir-4th-may-25.webp?fit=1200%2C800&quality=80&ssl=1) --- ** “I am the new Prime Minister”** [Author @ZaksTradersCafe](https://twitter.com/ZaksTradersCafe) There are not many times that you can say that anything is as funny, or funnier than “Only Fools And Horses” but the exchange between Andy Burnham and Robert, a care home resident was right up there. As my late father would reiterate, “there is no fool like an old fool.” In this case we wonder who is fooling who? **FTSE 100 And Small Caps At Record Highs** The Week In Small Caps is supposed to be focused on the minnows. But of course, life, love and everything that matters stems from small caps, as they eventually become large caps. Or at least a few of them do. We were reminded of this during the week, as not only did the FTSE 100 reach a record,  but so did the FTSE Small Cap index. Indeed, the latter has jumped from 7,100 in March to 8,100 now. I was perhaps happier than most that the FTSE 100 was at a record, even though the call on this website this month has been that it could hit 11,000 by the end of August. In fact, we missed this in July by just 12 points, so not a bad call at all. So who do the Financial Times ask for a quote on this occasion as to why and how the market is at an all-time high? Chris Beauchamp from IG. Unfortunately, the FTSE AiM index is nowhere near a record, trading at 800, versus 2,800 at best, three decades ago. It is rubbish, as it is too expensive for most companies to thrive on it anymore. Interestingly enough, all of this has coincided with an article in the Financial Times this weekend regarding an initiative by the FCA to revive share trading on the London stock market. This is supposed to be focused on a new data service showing the depth of the market. Well, if there is no trading in your stock, there is not likely to be any depth in the data. Just look at Aquis. Of course, being a slightly mischievous person in such matters, I was scouring the article and waiting for a mention of the 0.5% stamp duty that it costs to trade shares, and which is THE block on getting more people to invest / trade the market. There was no mention of this, just the mumbo jumbo regarding data showing the depth of the market concept. Also, this new service will not turn up for another 18 months, by which time AIM will no doubt have lost another 100 companies. **This Week’s Risers** Although everyone and their mother took credit for the share price rise in** Georgina Energy (GEX), **as it more than doubled ahead of the placing, the good news here is that the usual psychotic comments against the company held off long enough for its to raise money. The usual shorting conspiracy playbook is either to trash a company (insult management, suggest fraud or that it is running out of money, leak a placing et al) in order to make a cash call fail, and hence a company fail, and for a short position to win. Apparently, none of this is illegal. In the case of GEX, one can say that it should now be above the clouds against such bear action, and can get on with making its shareholders money, via its flagship Hassar EP513 project. Speaking of making shareholders money, this should have very well been the case at **African Pioneer (AFP)** this week, as the exploration and resource development company with projects in Namibia, Zambia and Botswana, announced it has signed a conditional definitive financing and technical services agreement with Hong Kong Xinhai Mining Services Limited, in relation to African Pioneer’s Ongombo and Ongeama projects. This should mean that the Colin Bird vehicle, who surprisingly gets insulted on a regular basis by crackpot commentary, is on its way not only operationally, but also as we saw this week, in terms of the share price. [!\[\](https://www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/COLIN-BIRD-1-AUG-26-300x158.jpg)](https://www.share-talk.com/five-companies-afp-bzt-ken-glr-xtr-one-chairman/) [Five Companies, AFP, BZT, KEN, GLR, XTR, One Chairman](https://www.share-talk.com/five-companies-afp-bzt-ken-glr-xtr-one-chairman/) Those who are familiar with Colin Bird and his stable of companies will know not only how diligent and hard working he is, but also that he is not one of the younger people on the stock market. That accolade actually goes to Ippolito Cattaneo, CEO of** Ajax Resources (AJAX). **He may be around half a century younger than Mr Bird, but he knows his onions in the exploration / development area. This was once again witnessed by the interview I did with him during the week. It was also witnessed by the 29% share price rise on Friday, something which is understandable if you listen to the interview. ![](https://www.share-talk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Zak-Mir-@ZaksTradersCafe-_-Twitter-Google-Chrome-2022-09-11-at-11.06.02-AM-291x300.jpeg) [Author @ZaksTradersCafe](https://twitter.com/ZaksTradersCafe) **Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:** The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion. --- **Original URL:** https://www.share-talk.com/traders-cafe-with-zak-mir-the-week-in-small-caps-sunday-2nd-august-2026/ *Created by [WP Markdown Endpoint](https://wpmarkdownendpoint.com/)*