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LONDON (Alliance News) - Bezant Resources PLC on Tuesday said it has signed a memorandum of agreement with KPZ International Ltd for the option over an interest in a small-scale copper mining licence in Zambia.
Shares in Bezant were down 8.3% at 0.082 pence in morning trade in London.
The binding agreement grants explorer and developer Bezant a conditional option to acquire a 50% interest in licence number 15164-HQ-SML, containing the Buffalo exploration project.
Bezant must complete an initial assessment of the licence area, for up to USD200,000, by February 2020 to receive the interest. Bezant may withdraws from the option at any time.
Historic mining at Buffalo includes four diamond holes drilled in the 1960s with a best intercept of 28 metres at 1.1% copper, including 5 metres at 1.9% copper. Bezant collected a composite grab sample from the ore zone which found 1.2% copper and 1.0 grammes of gold per tonne of ore.
The Buffalo copper-gold property consists of 398 hectares. The licence was issued in 2013 and is valid until the end of February 2023, with an application to extend the licence to cover gold as well as copper currently being made.
Bezant Executive Chair Colin Bird said: "The Buffalo project is a well established concession, which has the benefit of good historic work more directed to small scale mining."
Bird added: "We will commence our initial assessment on clearly defined veins, with apparent significant strike and the potential future opportunity to commence small-scale mining supplying ore to third party processing plants. I am most pleased to have negotiated this agreement and see the potential for achieving shareholder value enhancement in a stable jurisdiction with a long history of copper mining."
