Drilling Results at Hope Copper-Gold Project
Exploration Drilling and Analytical Results
at the Hope Copper-Gold Project, Namibia
Bezant (AIM: BZT), the copper-gold exploration and development company, is pleased to announce results for its recent drilling programme at the Hope Copper-Gold Project in Namibia (the “Project”).
Colin Bird, Executive Chairman of Bezant, commented :
“The result of this initial programme achieved the objective of confirming our assertion that gold should be present at the Gorob-Vendome deposit since it is present at the Hope project. Both copper and gold values were pleasing and we will obviously internally rework the valuation of Gorob based on the new results. This result has provided us with increased motivation to test the 130km of strike under license and this will be carried out by a heli-airborne survey during this first quarter.
We are currently planning our initial reconnaissance holes for the manganese project in southern Botswana. Again, we are intending to start drilling in the first quarter.”
Highlights
· Assaying of samples from the two diamond drill holes completed by Bezant at the Gorob-Vendome massive sulphide deposit has indicated continuity of copper-gold mineralisation within the Inferred Mineral Resource envelope.
· Downhole assay intervals best results include 3.57m @ an average 4.36% Cu, 0.64g/t Au in hole GOD-001 and 3.0m @ an average 2.18% Cu, 0.26% Au in hole GOD-002 within a wider zone of copper-gold mineralisation.
· Accompanying gold values in the Bezant holes support management’s belief that the gold content could be higher than previously reported in the Gorob-Vendome Inferred Mineral Resource estimate and could add considerable value to the project; very limited gold assaying was carried out in the historic drill holes.
· The new results will be incorporated into the Company’s internal valuation studies and into future revised resource estimates.
· Two diamond drill holes designed to test a NSAMT anomaly at Hope North intersected cavities and did not intersect any base metal mineralisation , confirming management’s suspicion that the source is most likely to be saline water.
· Bezant is now planning for exploration along the 130km strike extent of the Hope/Matchless Copper Belt, including airborne geophysical surveying to see through the overburden cover which has hidden much of the Belt from previous explorers.
Exploration Update
Four diamond drill holes totalling 645 metres were completed during November 2020, two each at the Gorob-Vendome and Hope North targets. The Gorob-Vendome holes were planned to increase confidence in the geology and mineral intercepts reported in the historic drilling and specifically to provide information on the gold grades associated with the copper-bearing massive sulphides. Little gold assaying was carried out on drill core from the earlier holes used in the current Inferred Mineral Resource at Gorob-Vendome, therefore it was interpreted that it might not reflect potentially important gold credits.
