Mankayan Project

RNS Number : 9837L

Bezant Resources PLC

21 January 2009

 



Bezant Resources Plc

('Bezant' or the 'Company')

Assay Results for Inclined Drill Hole BC-54

Highest Recorded Copper and Gold Grades Intersected at the Company's

Mankayan Project, Philippines

Highlights:

• Highest averaged grades intersected at Mankayan to date.

• A total of 531m copper-gold porphyry intersected in inclined drill hole BC-54. 

• 282m of higher-grade intersections with average copper grades of 0.68%, average gold grades of 0.86 g/t and average silver grades of 1.46 g/t. 

• Including 57m contiguous core intersection grading of 0.76% copper and 0.89 g/t of gold. 

Bezant (AIM: BZT), the AIM listed gold and copper exploration and development company operating in the Philippines and Tanzania, today announces assay results for the sixth completed diamond drill hole (BC-54) at its Mankayan Project, located 260km north of Manila in the Philippines. This sixth hole in the ongoing 11,000m Mankayan drilling programme has returned the highest average grades for the mineralised zone intersected to date. 

BC-54 was drilled at an approximate -75 degree incline to an inclined depth of 883.1m. Assay results have been returned for a total of 531m of mineralised core for the interval 342m to 873m, with the average assay results for the entire 531m of intersections being as follows:

Interval (m)	Cu (%)	Au (g/t)	Ag (g/t)
342 - 873	0.53	0.66	1.33

The hole, BC-54, is located in the western area of the central section to the deposit and was drilled towards the southeast. The drilling of the NW-SE 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 NW-SE section line, across a central large   section of the deposit; and

4.    Verification of historical drill holes, drilled vertically along the same section line.

Highlighted intersections shown in Table 1 below comprise 285m of composite intersections with weighted average grades of 0.68% Cu, 0.86 g/t Au and 1.46 g/t Ag. The highlighted intersections also include a 57m contiguous intersection grading 0.76% Cu, 0.89 g/t Au and 1.51 g/t Ag. 

Gerry Nealon, Executive Chairman, today commented:

'These highest averaged grades to date within our Mankayan Copper-Gold drill programme are clearly very encouraging, whilst also providing further verification of the historical data. We continue to aggressively pursue the drilling programme at Mankayan, with the drilling of the last remaining holes on the deposit now all nearing completion. I look forward to communicating the first clear interpretation of the ore body, once all of our current drilling has been completed and the data fully analysed. We currently expect to be in a position to do so during Q2 of this year.' 

Table 1: Highlighted Intersections within hole BC-54

From	To	Cu (%)	Au (g/t)	Ag (g/t)	Interval (m)
372	375	0.59	0.25	0.90	3
450	453	0.54	0.52	1.80	3
456	459	0.52	0.47	1.10	3
480	486	0.66	0.46	1.80	6
489	495	0.61	0.53	2.75	6
510	528	0.59	0.50	1.60	18
531	540	0.72	0.82	3.87	9
549	567	0.61	0.57	1.23	18
570	579	0.83	1.14	2.30	9
582	588	0.74	0.68	1.05	6
594	606	0.77	0.76	2.30	12
609	618	0.67	0.66	1.30	9
621	624	0.56	0.72	0.70	3
627	636	0.77	0.80	2.57	9
639	696	0.76	0.89	1.51	57
699	708	0.56	1.00	1.37	9
714	735	0.59	0.89	1.29	21
738	750	0.62	0.94	1.08	12
768	783	0.63	1.12	1.04	15
789	792	0.55	0.89	0.80	3
795	813	0.81	1.09	1.03	18
819	828	0.66	1.12	0.93	9
831	858	0.62	1.11	1.01	27
Weighted Average		0.68	0.86	1.46
Total Metres					285

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]

Alastair Stratton 

Matrix Corporate Capital LLP 

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. Last year, the Company 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.

 

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