Bezant Resources Plc starts concentrate production at Hope & Gorob

Bezant Resources Plc LONBZT said on Friday that commercial copper-gold concentrate production has begun at its Hope & Gorob project in Namibia. The company targets at least 9,000 tonnes of plant throughput in October, when it expects its first saleable concentrate to become available for offtake.

Bezant shares were up 9.09 per cent at 0.15 pence on London's AIM market in the London Stock Exchange's delayed snapshot timestamped 8:39 a.m. BST Friday.

The Oct. 2 announcement said the Tsoaxaub Metals flotation plant is processing ore from the new mine, with more than 40,000 tonnes mined since mid-August and about 10,000 tonnes stockpiled at the plant. Bezant said it completed site establishment, mine construction and plant development within 21 weeks of groundbreaking, ahead of schedule and within internal budgets, but gave no total construction cost.

The company expects throughput to rise toward the plant's nameplate capacity by the end of 2026, without specifying that capacity in Friday's release. It has begun planning a second processing line that it says could increase throughput by up to 40 per cent.

Bezant said initial indications show copper grades in mined ore comparing favourably with its resource estimates and Hope open-pit block model, while gold grades in run-of-mine material exceed its forecast. The release did not quantify either grade or provide reconciled plant feed grades, recoveries or concentrate tonnage.

“We will continue to increase mining and processing capacity within our plan to produce concentrate for sale as quickly as possible,” Bezant executive chairman Colin Bird said in the release.

The company's development photo journal dated May 29 describes crushing and dry sorting at the mine before copper-gold preconcentrate is hauled to Tsoaxaub for flotation. The plant's output is intended for shipment through Namibia's Walvis Bay port; Friday's statement reported concentrate production, not a completed sale or shipment.

The plant is running as required and has had no major mechanical issues so far, Bezant said, while commissioning continues. The October processing target is therefore still a target: the announcement does not give a sustained throughput rate, the value of its concentrate or an offtake price.

The proposed Phase II line would use ore from the existing Hope & Gorob resource, and the company says an engineering assessment has been completed. Its Oct. 2 release gives no capital cost, construction timetable or funding terms for the expansion.

Bezant's Oct. 2 release also sets an initial drilling target of 500,000 tonnes of contained copper, which it calls the minimum scale for considering a Phase III plant. The company gave no date for drilling, saying it will wait for stable production and cash flow.

Bezant expects first saleable concentrate to be available for offtake in late October 2026.