Shares in Bezant Resources plc (LON:BZT) zipped higher at the opening bell after the junior miner confirmed it had achieved the first commercial gold and platinum production at its Choco project in Colombia.
The milestone has been reached within two months of plant commissioning at this first mining area, Bezant added.
First sales from Choco expected this quarter
After receiving the necessary approvals from the Colombian authorities at the end of last month, the AIM-quoted firm expects first sales from production in the near future.
“First commercial production of gold and platinum has been achieved on schedule and we are now reviewing the run-of-mine production data to achieve full operational ramp-up during the next few months,” said chief executive Bernard Olivier.
“I look forward to announcing further progress and the sale of our initial gold and platinum in due course.
“I am delighted with the speed with which we have delivered production and the company is now excellently positioned to drive shareholder value from its implementation of a cash-generative mining model in gold and platinum with low upfront capital requirements and good margins.”
Higher grade material deeper down
Bezant is now looking to reach operational profitability at the FKJ-083 licence area within the next three months.
It is currently feeding the production plant with material from the upper layers of platinum and gold bearing gravels, but it expects a grade upscale as it gets down to the higher grade gravels deeper down.
The intersection of the large material areas is planned to coincide with full production ramp-up at the first processing plant.
The plant will process near-surface gravels from the regional alluvial deposit, using a proven mercury-free gravity fed system, to recover free gold and platinum that requires no further treatment or processing prior to sale.
The plan is for the plant to process 1,800 cubic metres of material per day at a cost of around US$768 per ounce of platinum and gold recovered.
Raised £585,000 in July
At the start of July, Bezant raised £585,000 to help fund the ramp-up to full, regular production at Choco in the not too distant future.
It raised the cash through a placing and subscription of 68.8mln new shares at 0.85p a piece, while a warrant to subscribe for a further one new share at 2p each was issued for every two shares bought.
“[The] fundraising will support the company as we seek to commence and then ramp-up to regular gold and platinum production at our Choco Project in Colombia,” said chairman Edward Nealon at the time.