Cyprus Joint Venture Update

RNS Number : 8925E

Bezant Resources PLC

16 March 2022

 

16 March 2022

Bezant Resources PLC ("Bezant") &

Caerus Mineral Resources PLC ("Caerus")

Cyprus Joint Venture Update 

Bezant Resources  (AIM: BZT), and Caerus Mineral Resources  (LON: CMRS) the exploration and resource development companies (the "Companies") with a Joint Venture ("JV") focused on the Troulli Mine Development Project and other copper-gold JV targets in Cyprus, are pleased to provide Shareholders with a further Joint Venture update.

Highlights

· Troulli Project;

o  Phase 2 drilling at Troulli, which has been ongoing for approximately a year has been completed, on schedule and within budget. On 22 April 2021, which is prior to the initial announcement of the JV, Caerus announced approval of a phase 2 drill programme with a focus on the epithermal gold target and potential extension to the former Troulli Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) deposit. The Companies' joint announcement on 24 February 2022 provided results of 6 drill holes from the drilling campaign.

o  Assay results received for drill hole TR22DD025 return peak intercepts of 1.25g/t Au over 12.9m from surface, 1.84% Cu over 5m from 12.9m, 1.26% Cu over 5.2m from 24.2m, 1.3% Cu eq over 16.5m from 12.9m and, 0.98% Cu eq over 17m from 62.5m.

o  Drill hole TR22DD025 ended in mineralisation indicating the possible presence of further previously unknown mineralisation dipping beneath barren cover.

o  Given delays experienced in assay results by the mining industry due to unprecedented demand, the balance of drill samples have been dispatched to three accredited laboratories  for analysis; ALS Ireland, ALS Romania and SGS Spain.

o  Addison Mining, the external resource consultant, remains on-schedule to release a maiden Mineral Resource estimate for the Troulli Project by the end of March 2022.

o Metallurgical test work by Jubilee Metals Group Plc ("Jubilee") is underway and progressing well.

· Baseline studies: progressing under the guidance of the JV's external independent Cypriot environmental consultant for both Troulli Project and Kokkinapetra -Troulli Extension Project.

· Drill targets approved: for both the Kokkinapetra -Troulli Extension Project and the Anglisides high-grade satellite JV Project with drilling to start in April 2022.

Colin Bird, Chief Executive Officer of Bezant said  "We are very pleased with the work carried out within this joint venture.  Every facet of the work has been confirmatory, and has often extended well beyond our initial expectations. 

We will soon receive a 3D resource model and be able to move on to definitive mine planning, with a view to optimising feed input to the proposed processing plant. 

Metallurgical work being carried out in Australia, is continuing and is producing very encouraging results.  The results of this metallurgical programme will be fed into financial assessment and we are confident of producing an overall development plan by the third quarter of 2022."

Martyn Churchouse, Chief Executive Officer of Caerus said  "The exploration team continues to make excellent progress and has provided Addison Mining the external Resource consultant with the bulk of data required for the maiden Mineral Resource estimate. Any additional assay results that are received will be included in subsequent estimates as the Company wishes to meet the end of March deadline for the maiden Mineral Resource estimate.

The assay results generated from the recent drilling of the Kokkinapetra -Troulli Extension Project and the Anglisides Project , reported 24 February 2022, have resulted in the approval of an exciting follow-up drill programme to commence in April. Targets for both projects offer scope for a material increase in the future treatable tonnes that could be processed through the Troulli plant. Caerus will continue to manage its treasury to ensure that the bulk of available funds is spent "in the ground" as we move towards the first material value-add, transforming the Troulli exploration licence with the addition of a maiden Mineral Resource estimate and the move towards a Mining Licence".  

Troulli Project: Diamond Drill Program

The results of the Phase 2 drilling campaign have provided sufficient assay analyses for Addison Mining, the independent Resource consultant to complete work to generate a maiden Mineral Resource estimate for the Troulli Project. The estimate will include dump and stockpile Mineral Resources but will not, at this stage, include any estimate for the extensions or satellites to Troulli and will provide a summary of the drill results used in calculating the estimate.

Drill hole TR22DD025 returned encouraging results typical of the Troulli deposit with gold values at or near-surface overlying a number of higher-grade copper zones within a broad copper - gold halo often returning copper equivalent grades over significant mineralised widths.

Borehole No	From (m)	To (m)	Mineralised Interval (m)	End of hole (m)	Copper (% Cu)	Gold (g/t Au)	Cu eq (% Cu)
TR22DD025	0.0	12.9	12.9			1.25
	12.9	17.9	5.0		1.84
	24.2	29.4	5.2		1.26
	12.9	29.2	16.5				1.3
	62.5	79.5	17.0				0.98

Jubilee Metallurgical Test Work : Test work is ongoing, with an emphasis on copper - gold sulphide, gold oxide and copper - gold oxide mineralisation styles encountered at Troulli. Jubilee is also preparing a high-level summary of expected processing methodologies to be incorporated by the external Resource consultant in the Maiden Resource Estimate documentation.

Kokkinapetra -Troulli Extension Project drill targets Drilling in late February of gossan targets located along the strike length between Troulli and Kokkinapetra also returned sufficiently encouraging results to warrant the approval of a follow-up drill programme. Caerus will be targeting near-surface gold mineralisation together with copper-gold sulphide at depth. The strike extension drilling will be aided by a scheduled ground geophysical survey over the same area. 

Anglisides Project drill targets: The recent drilling completed at the nearby Anglisides Project, returning a notable 1.18% Cu eq over 40m from surface, has resulted in the approval of a programme to test the high-grade near-surface mineralisation indicated in historic drilling undertaken prior to Caerus's ownership. Jubilee will be actively involved in the assessment of any Resource that is defined by the next drill campaign so that the JV can potentially transport an upgraded feedstock to the Troulli plant for processing.

For further information , in relation to the Companies  please contact:

	Caerus Mineral Resources plc	Bezant Resources plc
Website	www.caerusmineralresources.com	www.bezantresources.com
Company Contact	Martyn Churchouse Chief Executive Officer [e-mail] [phone]	Colin Bird Executive Chairman [e-mail] [phone]
Broker	Novum Securities Jon Bellis [phone]	Novum Securities Jon Bellis [phone]
Nominated Adviser	Not applicable	Beaumont Cornish Roland Cornish [phone]

Qualified Person  The content of this news release has been reviewed, verified, and approved by Mr. Nigel Chapman who is the exploration manager and now COO of Caerus. Mr. Chapman has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity to which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves and as a qualified person under the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies. Mr. Chapman is an employee of Luna Recursos Naturales SAC, an independent geological consultancy established in 2015 and is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Geoscientists (A.I.G.) 

Mr. Chapman consents to the inclusion in this Announcement of such information in the form and context in which it appears.

Glossary

A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of solid material of economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, grade (or quality), and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade (or quality), continuity and other geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.

An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit.

An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade (or quality) continuity. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.

"Au"  Gold

"Cu"  Copper

"Cu eq"  Copper equivalent: Copper equivalent grades are based on a copper price of US$4.0/lb and a gold price of US$1,800/oz Au.

"g/t"  grammes per tonne

"kt"  thousand tonnes

"Mt"  million tonnes

About Caerus Mineral Resources : Caerus Mineral Resources is a European focused copper-gold resource development and exploration company with a portfolio of mineral exploration licences located in Cyprus. The Country has a well-developed infrastructure and history of mineral exploration and production, which has been dormant over the last 50 years and provides significant undiscovered value and can be followed on Twitter at @CaerusMineral.

About Bezant Resources:  Bezant Resources is a focused on developing its pipeline of copper gold projects to provide a new generation of economically and socially sustainable mines and in addition to its joint venture with Caerus Mineral Resources in relation to Cyprus has copper projects in Namibia, Zambia, Philippines and Argentina and a manganese project in Botswana.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Companies to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law pursuant to the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) regulations (SI 2019/310).

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