Bezant Resources (BZT) , the copper-gold exploration and development company, told investors on Tuesday it signed a binding memorandum of agreement with KPZ International Limited for a copper licence in Zambia.
The agreement is for a conditional option to acquire a 50 per cent of copper mining licence number15164-HQ-SML in The Republic of Zambia, which contains the Buffalo exploration project.
The license is situated in the Central Zambian IOCG belt, which remains underexplored compared to the more well-established Zambian Copper Belt, but has been long recognised as high potential, the company said.
Interestingly, limited small scale mining already takes place in the project area on obviously visible ore outcrops. A composite grab sample collected from the ore zone by the company assayed 3.17 per cent. Cu and 0.97g/t Au.
Bezant, under the agreement, is to conduct an initial assessment of the Licence area at a cost of up to US$200,000 by 1 February 2020, with the right to cease expenditure on the assessment and withdraw from the Option.
Colin Bird, Executive Chairman of Bezant said: “The Central Zambian IOCG belt has significant exploration potential, but has always played a secondary role to the main copper belt in Zambia to the north which has hosted many large, world-class underground copper mines.”
He told investors: "We will commence our initial assessment on clearly defined veins, with apparent significant strike and the potential future opportunity to commence small-scale mining supplying ore to third party processing plants.”
Laurence Read, CEO of Bezant, added: "This Agreement fits well with our global copper mission and we intend to swiftly assess and analyse all potential copper development opportunities for the Buffalo Project with a view to maximising value creation for all of our stakeholders."
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