In anticipation of being granted a mining licence, Bezant Resources continues with exploration on its 70%-owned Hope and Gorob copper/gold project in central Namibia.
The company has also submitted a social and environmental impact assessment to interested and affected parties for comments.
The current mineral resource estimate indicates the viability of a Phase 1 openpit operation and Phase 2 underground mine, with 15-million tonnes grading 1.2% copper and 0.4 g/t gold.
Supplementary work having been done on the project will aid optimisation of the process flowsheet, final mine design and eventual start of the operation.
The company has been actively working on developing a work programme to prepare the project for rapid progression into execution, including metallurgical test work, discussions with potential mining contractors, underground mine design, discussions with a potential hybrid renewable energy solution supplier and discussions with a service provider for the supply of major infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Bezant is working on a preliminary in-house mineral estimation for the Kanye manganese project, in Botswana.