Drilling Results for Mankayan

RNS Number : 1223F

Bezant Resources PLC

06 October 2008

 



Bezant Resources Plc

('Bezant' or the 'Company')

Assay Results for Inclined Drill Hole BC-55

Mankayan Project, Philippines

Highlights:

• Total of 792m copper-gold porphyry intersections in inclined drill hole BC-55. 

• 165m of encouraging grade intersections; average 0.65% Cu, 0.76g/t Au and 1.5g/t Ag.

• Inclined drilling results potentially enabling Bezant to upgrade certain areas of the Mankayan deposit into the indicated JORC standard resource category, subject to an independent expert's assessment in due course. 

Bezant (AIM: BZT), the AIM listed gold and copper exploration and development company operating in the Philippines and Tanzania, today announces assay results for diamond drill hole BC-55 at its Mankayan Project, located 260km north of Manila in the Philippines. This is the fifth hole to be completed in the Company's ten hole (approximate 11,000m) drilling programme, presently being conducted at the Mankayan deposit.

Hole BC-55 was drilled at an approximately -75 degree incline, to an inclined depth of 1,089m. Assay results have been returned for a total of 792m of mineralised core, from the interval 297m to 1,089m, with the average assay results for the entire 792m of intersections being as follows:

Interval (m)	Cu (%)	Au (g/t)	Ag (g/t)
297 - 1,089	0.39	0.45	1.12

The hole, BC-55, is located in the north-eastern area of the central section to the deposit and was drilled towards the south-west. The drilling of the NE-SW inclined hole, provided the following crucial information:

1. Accurate geotechnical measurements across the core of the deposit;
2. Representative sample range for metallurgical tests;
3. Establishment of a representative average grade along a NE-SW section line, across a large part of the deposit; and
4. Verification of historical drill holes, drilled vertically along the same section line.
   

The highlighted intersections shown in Table 1 (attached), comprise 165m of composite intersections, with weighted average grades of 0.65% Cu, 0.76g/t Au and 1.5 g/t Ag.

Gerry Nealon, Executive Chairman, commented:

'Today's assay results from our first inclined hole support the exploration work carried out to date, delineating a very significant copper-gold mineralisation. These results confirm good homogeneity across the entire section line and provide further verification of associated historical holes. The results are extremely encouraging with regards to potentially upgrading certain areas of our Mankayan Resource to that of an Indicated status, subject to an independent expert's assessment in due course. 

The inclined hole has also permitted more extensive geotechnical measurements and representative metallurgical samples to be taken, being one of the remaining critical steps required for the completion of our initial mining feasibility study.'

To view the full Table 1: Highlighted Intersections within BRC-55, paste the following link into your web browser:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1223F_-2008-10-6.pdf

Dr. Bernard Olivier has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a competent person, as required under the AIM rules. Dr. Olivier is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 

For further information, please contact:

Gerry Nealon

Executive Chairman, Bezant Resources Plc

Tel: [phone]

Bernard Olivier

Executive Director, Bezant Resources Plc

Tel: [phone]

James Harris / Matthew Chandler

Strand Partners Limited

Tel: [phone]

Laurence Read/Beth Harris

Threadneedle Communications (UK)

Email: [e-mail]

Tel: [phone]

Mob: [phone]

or visit http://www.bezantresources.com

Notes for editors:

The Mineral and Production Sharing Agreement covers a total of 534 hectares in the Guinaoang area of the Philippines (the 'Mankayan Project').  This is located in the Mankayan-Lepanto mining district, an area of porphyry copper belts in the Philippines and is similar to several deposits that have already been developed, such as the St Thomas deposit near Baguio City.  The site is adjacent to the copper/gold mine owned and run by Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company, with the Mankayan-Lepanto area having been mined for centuries and being readily accessible by both road and air.  The Mankayan deposit was discovered in the early 1970s and since then has been extensively drilled, with four historical programmes being completed covering more than 45,000 metres of diamond drilling over 48 holes. The Company recently announced an independent JORC compliant Inferred Resource, reported by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Pty Limited, of 277.7 million tonnes grading at 0.50% copper and 0.42 g/t gold. The independent Resource estimate serves to support the Company's belief that its Mankayan Project represents a world-class copper and gold deposit, containing approximately 3.06 billion pounds (1.39 million tonnes) of copper and 3.8 million ounces of gold.

 

END

 

 

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