Bezant Resources PLC (LON:BZT) told investors that it has commissioned a new mining study which will examine mining options for the high-grade areas of the Mankayan copper-gold project in the Philippines.
The study, to be conducted by consultant Mining Plus, will examine the viability of new, scalable mining options. Importantly, the objective is to determine economically viable alternative mining processes.
WATCH: Bezant Resources commissions new mining study for its Mankayan project
It will be a ‘high-level’ desktop review of the project, it won’t require additional drilling, and it is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.
READ: Bezant’s Mankayan deposit could be highly attractive to a major mining company
“I am pleased that we shall be progressing the Mankayan copper-gold project following the results of extensive in-house geological and engineering work over the course of the last year,” said Laurence Read, Bezant chief executive.
"Our understanding of Mankayan has grown significantly and the potential for exploiting high-grade resource areas needs to be independently examined.
“While the current, 20 Mtpa economic scenario for Mankayan is highly robust and comparable to a series of successful, currently operating, third-party projects we believe that there may well be a viable alternate mining system that can be implemented within the Lift 1 area of the existing model.”
Read added: “Mankayan is a significant potential source of long-term copper gold-supply and the results of the new mining study may allow Bezant to pursue new avenues for the project if production scenarios, with reduced upfront capital expenditure, can be determined.”