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(Alliance News) - Bezant Resources PLC said Wednesday it has completed an exploration review on the Buffalo project, a 398 hectares copper and gold asset in the Central Zambian iron oxide copper-gold belt.
Shares in the copper and gold explorer were 16% lower at 0.080 pence on Wednesday.
The exploration review included a site visit and a review of historical data on the Buffalo asset, and identified a zone of structural focus centred on a site of artisanal copper and gold mining activity within the open pit.
During the work programme, the geological survey team identified visible copper oxide at the surface across the open pit area, with no sulphides identified to date.
Historical data going back to the 1920s revealed limited underground exploration development, including pitting and trenching, the drilling of four holes in the 1960s, and soil sampling and the drilling of three holes in the area since 2000.
Bezant's conclusion from the review is that the steeply-dipping target shear zone is open at depth and also remains open to the southwest into the Buffalo hill. The survey team is currently working to establish continuity of the mineralised zone to determine the strike extent of the mineralised target zone across the licence area.
It has been recommended that detailed geological mapping be carried out, as well as systematic chip and channel sampling. Assuming positive results from the work, a follow-up drill programme can then be proposed.
"Our option over 50% of Buffalo offers entry into a promising copper-gold project with access to a range of existing data sets and with exposed mineralisation from artisanal mining activity. In addition to assessing the potential for extensions at depth and across the licence area, our key ongoing work will centre on the characteristics of Buffalo as an ore body," said Chief Executive Officer Laurence Read.
