Bezant Resources PLC Regulatory News (BZT)

11 Feb 2008 07:00

Bezant Resources PLC11 February 2008 Bezant Resources Plc ("Bezant" or the "Company") Board Changes Highlights: - Gerry Nealon assumes the role of Executive Chairman in line with the Company'sprimary focus on its Filipino exploration programme - Clive Sinclair-Poulton resigns as CEO to pursue other interests but willcontinue to act for Bezant in a consultancy capacity - Mark Burchnall moves to a non-executive board position Bezant (AIM: BZT), the AIM listed exploration and development company with goldand copper assets in the Philippines and gold assets in Tanzania, todayannounces the following board changes. Gerry Nealon has assumed the role of Executive Chairman to further explorationactivities following the Company's highly promising initial drilling results atits Mankayan Project in the Phillippines. Clive Sinclair-Poulton has stepped down from the board to pursue other interestsbut will continue to be associated with the Company in a consultancy capacity. In addition, Mark Burchnall has moved to a non-executive position alongsideRonnie Siapno, who continues in his role as a Non-executive Director, and DrBernard Olivier who continues as Technical Director. All of the aforementionedboard changes are with immediate effect. The Company's Mankayan copper-gold porphyry project saw consistently positiveresults from exploration activities during 2007, which culminated in the recentannouncements for drill holes BRC-50 and BRC-51. With five months of promisingexploration completed, the Company will now aggressively pursue its fully fundeddrilling programme in the Philippines whilst continuing work on its MkurumuProject and seeking to expand its assets in Tanzania. Gerry Nealon and DrBernard Olivier will oversee all of the Company's exploration and workprogrammes in their executive roles. Commenting today, Gerry Nealon, Executive Chairman, said: "Bezant has made significant exploration progress during 2007 and the Companyremains on course to complete its fully funded drilling programme in thePhilippines on time and within budget. I would personally like to thank Clivefor all his work in assisting the Company to reach this next stage in itsdevelopment and look forward to his further contributions as a valued consultantto the Company." For further information, please contact: Gerry Nealon, Executive ChairmanBezant Resources PlcTel: +61 417 541 873 James Harris / Matthew ChandlerStrand Partners LimitedTel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 Gary MiddletonSt Swithins PR LimitedEmail: gary@swithins.comTel: +44 (0) 7951 603 289 Additional Information: Revised Board of Directors Gerard Nealon M.Sc., B.Sc. (Hons) (Executive Chairman) Gerard Nealon, aged 47, is a Chartered Chemist holding the degrees of B.Sc.(Hons) in Biochemistry and M.Sc. in Forensic Science. He has approximatelytwenty five years of work experience, primarily in the areas of forensicscience, quality systems, risk management, research & development, corporategovernance and due diligence. Gerard was initially employed by governmentagencies, prior to moving into the private sector and founding his ownconsulting company in 1994. His main areas of operation have principally beenAustralia, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the USA, havingpreviously held the positions of Chairman with Sylvania Resources Limited(listed on AIM and ASX) and Commercial Manager with Dwyka Resources Limited(listed on AIM and ASX). Gerard is currently the Chairman of Magnum Mining andExploration Limited and a director of Great Australian Resources Limited (bothlisted on ASX). Dr Bernard Olivier (Technical Director) Dr Bernard Olivier, aged 32, received his PhD in Economic Geology from theUniversity of Stellenbosch, South Africa in 2006 and is a member of theAustralasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He has been working as ageologist since 1998 throughout most of Africa and parts of Asia, includingTanzania, South Africa, Zambia, Burundi, Malawi, Namibia and the Philippines. Hehas worked on various exploration and development projects as well as activemining operations on a variety of commodities including, gold, gemstones,diamonds, base metals and coal. He is a founding director of Olivier GeologicalServices, a mining and geological consultancy, and is currently Vice PresidentOperations for TanzaniteOne Limited (listed on AIM) and Project Manager forDwyka Resources Limited (listed on AIM and ASX). Mark Burchnall BA, LLB (Non-executive Director) Mark Burchnall, aged 31, graduated in 1998 from the Flinders University of SouthAustralia before working as a lawyer with a number of prominent Australian lawfirms for approximately eight years. Most recently, Mark was employed as aSenior Associate with Clayton Utz in Perth where he worked for over four yearsin the corporate, energy and resources area, providing advice to a number ofAustralian and internationally-listed clients, primarily with a naturalresources focus. He has a number of years experience in public and privatecapital raisings, asset and share sales and acquisitions (with the associateddue diligence enquiries) and is currently the Manager - Strategic Developmentfor Dwyka Resources Limited (listed on AIM and ASX) and Sylvania ResourcesLimited (listed on AIM and ASX), as well as being a director of WashingtonResources Limited (listed on ASX). Ronnie Siapno (Non-executive Director) Ronnie Siapno, aged 44, graduated from the Saint Louis University in thePhilippines in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering andis currently a member of both the Philippine Institute of Mining, Metallurgicaland Geological Engineers and the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers. Sincegraduation, he has held various consulting positions such as Mine PlanningEngineer to Benguet Exploration Inc., Mine Production Engineer to Pacific ChromeInternational Inc., Exploration Engineer to both Portman Mining Philippines Inc.and Phoenix Resources Philippines Inc. and Geotechnical Engineer to PacificFalkon Philippines Inc. He is currently the President of Crescent Mining andDevelopment Corporation. Notes for editors: The Philippines is the fifth-most endowed country in the world in terms ofmineral resources and is home to some of the world's biggest under-exploiteddeposits of gold and copper. It also benefits from one of the most liberalmining regimes in the region. The Mining Act of 1995 allows for 100 per cent.foreign-equity participation through Financial and Technical AssistanceAgreements (FTAAs) with local miners. In addition, the Filipino government hasin recent years sought to promote foreign mining investment by providing varioustax and non-tax incentives and has established the Mineral Development Councilto assist foreign investors in expediting access to mining projects. Mining investment in the country has steadily increased in recent years, withthe Filipino Chamber of Mines (the "Chamber") forecasting an estimated US$1.55billion of mining investment in 2008 and US$2.76 billion in 2009 (compared to anestimated US$350 million in 2007). The Chamber, the Department of Environmentand Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau predict that thecontribution of mining exports to the Philippines' total export figures willcontinue to increase year-on-year over at least the next three to five years. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange