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Experienced management
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Diverse portfolio of assets
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Favourable jurisdictions
What it owns:
In April 2020 Bezant bought a 30% stake in the Kalengwa project in Zambia, which was followed by the acquisition of Virgo Resources Ltd and its interests in the Hope copper-gold project, Namibia.
Bezant has completed the sale of 80% of its stake in the Mankayan copper and gold project in the Philippines to Singapore-based company Mining and Minerals Industries Holding Ltd (MMIH).
MMIH has itself previously entered into a separate agreement to vend certain mining assets in the Philippines to China Hongxing Sports Limited (CHX), a public company listed on the main board of the Singapore stock exchange.
Bezant also owns a small project in Argentina at Eureka where work is underway on environmental permits.
Here, like Mankayan, Bezant is looking for a partner to take the project forward and in September said it had received some expressions of interest.
In February 2021, the company completed the acquisition of Metrock Resources, which brings with it ownership of the Kanye Manganese Project in Southern Botswana.
What the boss says: Colin Bird, executive chairman
"The company is well-positioned in the gold-copper space when the demand for copper is expected to double by 2030.
"The copper industry will return to its structure of the 1990s, where 'small high-grade mines existed, medium-sized open pit and underground mines existed and of course, the large open pits which were the key contributors'.
Inflexion points
- New assets in Botswana, Zambia and Namibia
- New partner at Mankayan moves forward with its development
- Improving fiscal regime for mining in the Philippines
- Focused on copper
Blue Sky
BHP has suggested 105 kilogrammes of copper could be required in the manufacture of every electric car. That would suggest future copper demand for use in electric vehicles at something like 12mln tonnes per year, or more than half of the current global market for refined copper.
