[Source: Bezant Resources]
Bezant Resources (BZT ) said eight diamond drillholes that were drilled at the Gorob Prospect in Namibia ‘consistently intersected visible copper mineralisation both at and near-surface.’
The copper-gold exploration exploration company, which is currently undertaking a 2,000m exploration programme at the Hope Copper-Gold project in central Namibia.
The programme is being directed towards testing for the presence of near surface sulphides and oxides at the Gorob-Vendome prospect which is one of the three copper deposits contained in the project.
The programme was designed to generate high quality drill data to allow external consultants to prepare a more reliable estimate of the extent of copper mineralisation at or near-surface and the high-level estimation of possible tonnage, grade and contained copper metal, it said.
A total of eight diamond drillholes have now been completed at the Gorob Prospect for a total of 395.96m. After intersecting visible copper mineralisation, the drill rig has now moved along strike to the Vendome prospect where it will aim to test strike continuity within that zone.
Visible copper mineralisation, both oxide and sulphide, was intersected at depths ranging from 20m downhole to 50 - 60m downhole. Meanwhile, the rig has relocated to the Vendome Target for a short programme before moving onto other priority surface and near-surface targets including Hope, Luigi, Anomaly West, Central and East, Du Preez and the Shaft area.
Bezant considers the historic estimate of cumulative mineralised strike length between the Hope and Gorob mineralisation to be conservative and based almost exclusively on deep drilling, targeting a high-grade continuous mineralised body assumed by previous explorers.
Historical data compilation has identified a total of 8 known targets for immediate drilling in the prospective Matchless Copper Belt, and 2,000m of drilling has been allocated to test the up-dip extensions to known mineralisation previously drilled at depth by other companies.
A 140m deep vertical shaft which was excavated in the 1970's has been located at the Hope prospect. Bezant said an investigation of the shaft and its alignment with known and projected near-surface mineralisation indicates scope for a high-grade near-term production opportunity.
The shaft location, in relation to drilled mineralisation and the latest surface projections is expected to significantly reduce future capital expenditure on underground development.
The current programme is provisionally expected to include approximately 2,000m of drilling.
Meanwhile, the company informed investors that additional personnel have been recruited to deal with the logging and sampling of drill core and samples. The samples are expected to be dispatched for analysis for copper and gold by an independent lab in the next few weeks.
Commenting on the programme, Colin Bird, Executive Chairman of Bezant, told investors: “The exploration programme for Hope and Gorob has been directed towards testing for the presence of near surface sulphides and oxides. To date there has been very little oxide but we are very pleased that all holes drilled include sulphide zones of reasonable thickness.
The intersections have been as close as 20m from surface and visual inspection suggest that copper values will be consistent with deeper intersections. The photographs enclosed suggest strong mineralisation and the programme is designed to develop a resource at less than 150m deep, a portion of which will be open pit-able, thus minimising our time to get into production. The shallower ore programme will be spread across various points along the 17km separating Hope & Gorob with a view to test the continuity of mineralisation.”
Follow News & Updates from Bezant Resources: