Last checked at 10 Oct 2016 10:25
10 October 2016
Bezant Resources Plc
("Bezant" or the "Company")
Operational Update, Platinum and Gold Mining Project, Colombia
Bezant (AIM: BZT), the AIM quoted mineral exploration and development company, announces an operational update including completion of the equipment mobilisation and commissioning of the exploration processing plant on site at the FKJ 083 licence in the Choco Province of Colombia. As previously announced, Bezant is working with mining contractor partner Exumax S.A.S. ("Exumax") to engage in a planned 24-month exploration and development programme to explore near surface, Colombian platinum and gold assets (the "Colombian Projects") over which the Company holds certain option rights, including the FKJ 083 licence area. The terms of the options held by the Company over the Colombian Projects remain as announced by the Company on 16 November 2015.
Highlights:
o Exploration processing plant mobilised to site and commissioned
o Required earth moving machinery on site
o Preparations for first test pit and sampling are scheduled to commence imminently
o Operations team engaged and geological and exploration work has begun
o Laboratory established at camp and local Colombian workers undergoing training to process and record results within this environment
o Both historical tailings and virgin ground to be processed and analysed as part of the exploration process
o OBJECTIVE: Rapidly establish production economics of FKJ 083, correlating historic mining data from previous operations with processing results
§ Establish first producing alluvial plant for gold and platinum
§ Begin pipeline of further test pitting to establish prospective production zones
Following the mobilisation of Exumax to site the alluvial processing plant has now been commissioned and mechanical testing has been successfully concluded. The objective of the testing was to monitor the plant's ability to process consistent levels of throughput.
With all required machinery, earth-moving equipment, processing plant and work crews on site, preparation for the first exploration test pit is scheduled to commence at the previously mined FKJ 083 licence imminently. The operations team has also been engaged and preliminary exploration and geological work has begun. The objective of the exploration work programme is to correlate test results with historic mining data from the licence through examining recovery rates from a series of test pits across the target areas. The laboratory, where concentrate will be sent for final processing and examination, is complete and the local Colombian team is being trained to record results under supervision. The work programme will cover the testing and evaluation of all the different alluvial layers to bedrock as well as historical tailings located on the licence area. This will allow the full potential of the licence area to be evaluated and also build up a profile of the primary platinum and gold depositional environments and other key alluvial characteristics in the area.
Further announcements will be made as appropriate on the progress of the initial work programme and the project in general. It is the Company's intention to rapidly establish the economic viability of the Choco region as a low cost, near surface gold-platinum recovery operation and replicate production plants across the area.
Bernard Olivier, CEO of Bezant, commented:
"With mobilisation and commissioning of the mobile testing plant now complete, we are ready to commence exploration and bulk sampling. I am happy to report that the partnership with Exumax is working very efficiently. I look forward to updating the market shortly regarding progress with the exploration and sampling programme as well as the anticipated first recovery of platinum and gold."
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The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR").
Notes to Editors:
Bezant is an AIM quoted mineral exploration and development company with operations in Colombia, the Philippines and Argentina. The Company's ordinary shares of 0.2 pence each are traded under the ticker AIM: BZT, with identification code GB00B1CKQD97.
Exumax S.A.S. (www.exumax.co) is a private Colombian based mine operating company with over 6 years' mine operating experience in Colombia and has a well-established Colombian based team that can provide a turnkey exploration solution to Bezant's wholly owned Colombian subsidiary, Ulloa Recursos Naturales SAS ("Ulloa"). The principals of Exumax have over 50 years of combined operating experience in the mining and construction industry in South America and in this period have developed extensive proprietary mining expertise. Exumax own and have imported special purpose alluvial mining equipment from New Zealand, where such operations are common, for use in low-cost alluvial extraction projects focused on precious metals. Exumax's activities will be led by Judd van den Brenk, a fluent Spanish speaker, with 6 years' alluvial mining experience in Colombia. Exumax have operated a series of alluvial projects in Colombia and prioritise community relations and environmental management work as key components to building successful mining operations in-country.