TIDMBZT
RNS Number : 3252V
Bezant Resources PLC
09 August 2022
9 August 2022
Bezant Resources Plc
("Bezant" or the "Company")
Hope and Gorob Project Drilling Update and Mining Licence
Submission
Bezant (AIM: BZT), the copper-gold exploration and development
company, is pleased to provide shareholders with an update on the
Hope and Gorob near-surface drill programme targeting copper - gold
mineralisation and to provide notice of the submission of both a
Mining Licence Application and an Exploration Licence Renewal
Application.
Assay results for a further nine diamond drillholes at the Hope
and Vendome prospects have been received following on from the
encouraging results achieved and announced to the Market on 14 June
2022 for the near-surface drill programme completed at Gorob.
Highlights:
-- Bezant has submitted a Mining Licence application together
with an Exploration Licence Renewal Application to the Namibian
authorities covering the Hope and Gorob Project.
-- The Mining Licence application is based on an updated Scoping
Study completed by external consultants in May 2022 incorporating
historic mineral resource estimates but excluding any subsequent
additional resources to be generated from the Company's recent
shallow drill programme.
-- The Scoping Study indicated that the potential for the
development of a surface and underground copper mine exists at the
Hope and Gorob deposits and recommended completion of the
additional work required for optimisation of mine development plans
including the work necessary to obtain granting of environmental
permits.
-- The Scoping Study also recommended that further exploration
work continues to fully define resource potential at these
deposits.
-- Recently completed shallow drilling has continued to extend
the strike and up-dip extension of mineralisation at both the Hope
and Vendome prospects. The current drillholes have added more than
1.5km to the mineralised strike length, with the potential to add
significantly to the previously estimated mineral resource.
-- Continuous copper and gold mineralisation has been
intersected in drill intercepts over substantial downhole widths of
up to 29.74m.
-- Downhole assay peak intercepts include:
o 4.6% Cu, 2.80g/t Au over 3.81m from 39.32m depth in hole
VED001
o 2.4% Cu, 0.36g/t Au over 14.28m from 25.2m depth in hole
HPD003
o 1.90% Cu, 0.36g/t Au over 9.30m from 33.80m depth in hole
HPD005
o 1.49% Cu, 0.23g/t Au over 16.97m from 15.50m depth in hole
HPD004
-- Gold values typically return grades of approximately 0.3g/t
Au providing a significant potential by-product value addition.
-- The drill programme has proven successful, confirming the
presence of shallow mineralisation at three prospects to date.
Results are sufficiently encouraging to warrant further drilling
along strike to evaluate an estimated additional linear 10km or
more of projected mineralisation never previously tested.
Colin Bird, Executive Chairman of Bezant commented "The
completion of the Scoping Study and submission of the Mining
Licence application for the Hope-Gorob project represents a
significant project milestone. The Study indicates the potential
for the development of a surface and underground copper mine at the
Hope and Gorob deposits. The Company will continue refining and
finessing all the engineering required to bring the project forward
towards production.
The latest drill assay results from this programme are very
encouraging and in advance of our expectations. The implication is
that clearly the near-surface area potentially contains enough
mineralisation over good widths sufficient to support open pit
mining, providing an opportunity to accelerate development of our
mining plans. It should be noted that these results can be expanded
beyond the immediate vicinity of the recent drilling and towards
other areas where there has been no historic drilling or any
systematic exploration. We are very excited at the potential
offered by these results to add to the Project's copper and gold
base resource and further effort will be directed towards
significant growth of Hope and Gorob and nearby targets."
Strike Extension Drilling Update
Assay results have been received for 2 holes drilled at Vendome
and 7 out of 8 holes at the Hope prospect, as detailed in Table 1.
Two drillholes, HDP001 and HDP002 were drilled for geological
purposes, not with the aim of intersecting mineralisation and hence
are not included in Table 1 below. Results for HPD007 are still
pending.
Table 1: Selected Drill Assay Results for Holes VED001 - 02
(Vendome) and HDP001 - 008 (Hope)
Hole ID From To Mineralised Grade Grade Grade
(m) (m) Width (% Cu) (g/t CuEq%*
(m) Au)
VED001 39.32 43.13 3.81 4.60 2.80 6.40
------- ------- ------------ -------- ------ --------
VED002 53.72 61.17 7.45 1.40 0.22 1.54
------- ------- ------------ -------- ------ --------
HPD003 19.85 39.48 19.63 1.81 0.28 1.99
Including 19.85 23.10 3.25 0.27 0.09 0.33
and 25.20 39.48 14.28 2.40 0.36 2.60
------- ------- ------------ -------- ------ --------
HPD004 11.72 12.42 0.70 0.35 0.41 0.61
15.50 32.47 16.97 1.49 0.23 1.64
Including 15.50 20.72 5.22 4.19 0.59 4.57
and 28.33 32.16 3.83 0.79 0.20 0.92
------- ------- ------------ -------- ------ --------
HPD005 33.80 43.10 9.30 1.90 0.36 2.13
------- ------- ------------ -------- ------ --------
HPD006 45.82 75.56 29.74 1.26 0.22 1.40
Including 45.82 50.32 4.50 5.04 0.63 5.45
and 54.98 58.97 3.99 1.28 0.31 1.46
and 68.82 75.56 6.74 1.32 0.30 1.49
------- ------- ------------ -------- ------ --------
HPD007 Results Pending
----------------------------------------------------------
HPD008 50.21 51.89 1.68 0.47 0.32 1.98
------- ------- ------------ -------- ------ --------
*CuEq: Copper equivalent grade is based on a copper and gold
equivalent using a copper price of US$9,000 per tonne and a gold
price of US$1,800 per ounce. No account has been taken of relative
recoveries for the two metals.
21 angled diamond drillholes were completed in the shallow drill
programme for a total of 1,371.47m. Holes were collared at the
Hope, Gorob, Vendome, Anomaly and Du Preez prospects. Drilling
commenced at the Gorob prospect where 8 holes were completed with
assay results reported to shareholders in June of this year. The
Gorob drill intercepts extended mineralisation near-surface over a
strike length of more than 500m, returning peak downhole intercepts
of 2.16% Cu, 0.35g/t Au over 2.4m in hole GRD006 and 2.03% Cu,
0.18g/t Au over 5.5m in GRD003. Corresponding gold grades at Gorob
were low compared to the consistent presence of gold in drill
results to date for Hope and Vendome.
Assay results from Hope and Vendome continue to confirm the
Company's hypothesis that copper - gold mineralisation extends
close to surface. Discovery of near-surface mineralisation provides
the scope for the extension of the existing mineral resource
estimate upwards from a variable depth of between 100m and 60m
below surface where the current model typically terminates due to
an absence of drilling in the intervening zone to surface.
The programme aims to generate sufficient drill data including
assay results and detailed geological logs to allow external
resource consultants to update both the geological model and the
mineral resource estimate. An updated Scoping Study completed in
May 2022 noted that near-surface drilling at Hope and Gorob could
be expected to add significantly to the current resource. Based on
the recent drill intercepts in respect of both grade and
mineralised widths, the Company believes that the eventual
additional resource tonnes derived from near-surface mineralisation
may exceed the preliminary estimate.
Mining Licence Application & Exploration Licence Renewal
Application
Bezant has submitted a Mining Licence ("ML") application
together with an Exploration Licence ("EPL") renewal application
covering the Hope and Gorob Project as the Company believes that
sufficient exploration has been completed to warrant the
application. The accompanying Environmental & Social Impact
Assessment is also underway. The ML application is based on an
updated Scoping Study ("Study") completed by external consultants
in May 2022 incorporating existing and upgraded internal mineral
resource estimates but excluding any subsequent additional
resources to be generated from the current drill programme. The ML
application covers a specific area of the original Hope and Gorob
licence related to future planned mining activity.
The Study undertaken covered the following areas:
Environmental and Permitting
Geological Setting and Mineralisation
Mineral Resources
Hydrogeology
Mining
Production
Project Infrastructure
Mineral Processing
Market Analysis
Financial Assessment
Key Success Factors and Project Risk
Further Work Required
The Study concluded that the potential for the development of a
surface and underground copper mine exists at the Hope and Gorob
deposits and recommended further engineering and optimisation work
to be undertaken to advance the Project to a Feasibility level
study to finalise the development option for Hope and Gorob . The
Study also recommended that further exploration work be continued
to fully define resource potential at the deposits.
The total area covered by the renewal application for EPL 5796
has been reduced by approximately 25% as required by licence
regulations. The EPL renewal, if granted, will provide the Company
with the ability to continue to test strike extensions and further
up-dip copper-gold mineralisation that can in time be included in
an updated JORC-compliant mineral resource.
Background Historical Data Compilation
Historic drilling was focussed on defining a resource at
downhole depths ranging from 100m to >300m below surface.
Historical resource estimates undertaken prior to Bezant ownership
identified a combined mineralised 6.4km of strike length associated
with the Hope, Gorob, Vendome, Luigi and Anomalies West, Central
and East prospects. Previous drilling was frequently wide-spaced,
making no attempt to confirm continuity both along strike or up-dip
towards surface from the typically deeper intercepts. Bezant is
targeting similar grades in the up-dip extension of this
mineralisation at or near-surface.
The Hope shaft, sunk by Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Co
Ltd, in the late 1970's to a vertical depth of 140m intersected
high-grade mineralisation with notable intersections achieved in
both drilling and channel sampling. Mineralisation exposed in the
shaft sidewalls and two drives excavated at the 100m and 140m
levels was not projected up-dip to surface. This will be tested in
due course by diamond drilling by Bezant. The close proximity of
the shaft to the Hope mineralisation as well as multiple other high
quality targets including Luigi, Du Preez, Anomalies West, East and
Central and the up-dip extension of all other mineralisation
defined by diamond drilling at depth provides the opportunity to
utilise the shaft infrastructure for future mining. Development of
drives from the current 140m level for example, effectively reduces
the requirement for further underground drive development to access
mineralisation by approximately 900m, representing a considerable
reduction in future infrastructure capital cost.
Hope and Gorob Copper-Gold Project Background Information
Project Area: The Hope Copper-Gold project comprises three
exclusive prospecting licences, EPL 5796 (Bezant interest = 70%) ,
EPL 7170 and EPL 6605 (Bezant interest in both = 80%) , totalling
approximately 1,053km(2) , located in central Namibia approximately
100km to the southwest of Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.
Regional Geology and Mines: The area covered by the Hope
Copper-Gold Project is characterised by superficial quaternary sand
and gravel overlying the Swakop Group of the Damara Supergroup. The
area is dominated by massive mica schists of the Kuiseb Formation
of the Pan-African Damara Orogen. These lithologies host multiple
high-grade copper-gold Besshi Type massive sulphide deposits, such
as the historically mined Otjihase Copper deposit (>16Mt @ 2.2%
Cu & 1.2g/t Au) to the northeast of the Hope property.
JORC Resource: The Hope Copper-Gold Project covers a significant
portion of the highly prospective Matchless Copper Belt. The Bezant
project area contains a series of copper deposits, of which three
(Hope, Gorob-Vendome, and Anomaly) make up a combined Indicated and
Inferred Mineral Resource of 10.2Mt @ 1.9% Cu and 0.3g/t Au at a
0.7% Cu cut-off, reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012),
containing 192kt of Cu metal and 3,190kg of Au. Approximately 30%
of the Mineral Resource tonnage is classified in the "Indicated"
Mineral Resource category with the balance in the "Inferred"
Mineral Resource category and the estimate was based on 339 drill
holes for a total of 63,855 metres.
For further information, please contact:
Bezant Resources Plc
Colin Bird +44 (0) 20 3416
Executive Chairman 3695
Beaumont Cornish (Nominated Adviser)
Roland Cornish +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Novum Securities Limited (Broker)
Jon Belliss +44 (0) 20 7399 9400
or visit http://www.bezantresources.com
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
UK Domestic Law pursuant to the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit)
regulations (SI 2019/310).
Qualified Person:
Technical information in this announcement has been reviewed by
Edward (Ed) Slowey, BSc, P.Geo, technical director of Bezant
Resources Plc . Mr Slowey is a graduate geologist with more than 40
years' relevant experience in mineral exploration and mining, a
founder member of the Institute of Geologists of Ireland and is a
Qualified Person under the AIM rules. Mr Slowey has reviewed and
approved this announcement.
Glossary
A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of solid
material of economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such
form, grade (or quality), and quantity that there are reasonable
prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity,
grade (or quality), continuity and other geological characteristics
of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated, or interpreted from
specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling.
Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing
geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured
categories.
An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral
Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape
and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient
confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in
sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the
economic viability of the deposit.
An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral
Resource for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on
the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological
evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade
(or quality) continuity. It is based on exploration, sampling and
testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from
locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings, and drill
holes.
"Au" Gold
"Cu" Copper
"Chalcopyrite" A copper-iron sulphide mineral, CuFeS(2) , often
found in copper ores
"EPL" Exclusive Prospecting Licence
"g/t" grammes per tonne
"kt" thousand tonnes
"Malachite" A green copper carbonate mineral (Cu(2) (OH)(2)
CO(3) ) which forms by alteration of copper sulphide minerals
"Mt" million tonnes
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