Bezant Resources to acquire big stake in Hope copper-gold project in Namibia

The move is an excellent opportunity to acquire a position in a significant JORC resource with good grades and a gold contribution, according to chairman Colin Bird

Bezant Resources PLC (LON:BZT) has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of Virgo Resources Ltd, picking up a big interest in the Hope Copper-Gold Project in Namibia.

Virgo’s subsidiary Hepburn Resources owns majority stakes (70%-80%) in Namibian companies which in turn hold the licences that comprise the Hope project.

Hope spans 92,310 hectares of the Matchless Copper Belt, with applications pending for a further 30,960 hectares. The project is to date estimated to host some 10.2mln tonnes of JORC compliant resources – with a copper grade of 1.9% and 0.3 grams per tonne gold – of which around 30% is classified as indicated resources.

READ: Bezant acquires significant exploration acreage in Zambia

Meanwhile, Bezant is raising £350,000 of new capital in a share placing arranged by broker Novum Securities. Some 406mln new shares will be sold to investors at a price of 0.08p each. Bezant’s chairman Colin Bird is at the same time subscribing for £50,000 of new shares on the same terms as the placing, with his holding marked at 3.29% of the enlarged share capital.

The company noted that the injection of funds would support its ongoing evaluation of the Kalengwa project in Zambia, along with geophysics and geochemistry for the Hope project.

“This acquisition represents a major additional contribution to Bezant’s copper gold portfolio,” Bird said in a statement.

“The acquisition represents an excellent opportunity to acquire a position in a significant JORC resource with good grades and a gold contribution. Namibia is an excellent jurisdiction with a long history of mining in the country and the project is in an area with good infrastructure. There exists considerable potential for discovering more copper and gold within the sizeable licence area and we look forward to advancing this exciting project in the short term,” the chairman added.

Hepburn owns 70% of Hope and Gorab Mining Pty Ltd which owns the EPL5796, 80% of Hope Namibia Mineral Exploration Pty Ltd holding EPL6605 and has the option to acquire an 80% interest in EPL7170.

To acquire the asset, Bezant is to issue just over 422mln new shares at a price of 0.2p, a 62% premium to Thursday’s closing share price, along with £135,000 to be paid in further new shares, approximately 112.5mln shares at an issue price of 0.12p.

The transaction is subject to a 30-day due diligence period.