Bezant Res Share News (BZT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Bezant Resources PLC said Thursday it has settled fees to current and former directors while other directors have agreed to waive GBP37,558 of fees.

Chief Executive Laurence Read and former Chairman Edward Nealon have agreed to waive the fees "to preserve the company's cash resources".

It has issued 6.7 million new shares to former Chief Executive Bernard Olivier in lieu of GBP30,000 of fees due. Further, unnamed directors have converted outstanding fees of GBP31,233 to 6.9 million new shares, and current management has agreed to convert GBP22,217 of fees to 4.9 million new shares.

All shares were converted at 0.45 pence per share, a 7.1% premium to its 0.42p closing price on Wednesday. Shares were down 3.0% on Thursday at 0.40p.

Furthermore, Bezant has issued 12.4 million new shares to Verona Investment Group Inc in place of GBP55,800 of fees owed. An obligation to issue a further 15.0 million shares as deferred consideration for the acquisition of Kellstown Investments Corp has been terminated, it added.

Bezant expects the total of 30.9 million new shares to be admitted to trading on Wednesday next week, following which it will have 776.6 million shares in issue.

Bezant added it is to renew focus on its copper-gold exploration assets in the Philippines and Argentina, while it is to re-evaluate its position of the Choco gold-platinum project in Colombia.

Executive Chairman Colin Bird said: "Having recently joined Bezant's board as chairman, I fully support the geological and corporate review work being undertaken. Periodically, companies must undergo a rigorous examination of their strategic focus and operations and now is an opportune time for Bezant.

"I believe that the fundamentals for copper have seldom been so good and that the suite of existing assets held by Bezant presents an enormous opportunity for shareholders. Once our review process, including site visits, has been fully completed, we will provide a further update on our intended focus and future direction."