LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Copper-gold exploration and development company Bezant Resources announced the completion of an all-parties technical visit to review the Hope and Gorob Project in Namibia on Monday, leading to consensus on the best way to optimise the project's development, including the lodging of a mining licence application.
The AIM-traded firm said lead engineering consultant Practara had developed a number of recommendations to be adopted, aimed at including near-surface mineralisation into the resource model.

Project design engineers Nurizon, meanwhile, would review plant layout specifically to offer multiple options for presentation to the Namibian authorities for consideration.

Further guidance would be provided by Namibian environmental consultants Namisun Environmental Projects and Development, managing a consortium of local experts given the responsibility for environmental impact assessment documentation.

Plant design consultants would embark on high-level design based on feedback from the company and consultants, referencing project throughput, ore types, scheduling and life of mine.

The company said the current 2,000 metre drill programme objectives would be realigned with the mining licence application process.

That would lead to a short-term emphasis on twinning historic drill holes to provide invaluable geological data, completing initial geotechnical logging for engineering purposes including the siting of infrastructure and underground development, collecting drill core for detailed metallurgical test work, and drilling to intersect near-surface copper oxide potential and to refine the geological model.

"The team had very productive site meetings and discussions with all stakeholders," said executive chairman Colin Bird.

"The outcome was that the project presents significant opportunity over and above previously considered mining plans.

"Our work suggests that an open pit working oxides and transition materials may well be possible and as such we are fast tracking determination of the presence, mineralisation style and metallurgical suitability for leaching or similar processes."

Bird said the apparent occurrence of significant gold workings that were reported as exploratory, but appeared to actually have been exploited by previous artisanal mining, was "impressive" to the company.

"The work programme should lead to early submission of the mining licence application and we will keep the market fully informed of material developments as the process continues."

At 1022 GMT, shares in Bezant Resources were up 3.33% at 0.16p.

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