logo-loader

Bezant Resources continues talks over Mankayan as slashes expenditure

Published: 07:38 30 Mar 2015 BST

philippines350_5518f37d3db4e

Bezant Resources (LON:BZT) continues discussions with potential partners and buyers for its flagship Mankayan gold project in the Philippines and is exercising rigorous cost controls.

In its latest half year results today, however, the group said talks were hampered by the commodity market downturn and, more significantly, a proposal made last year to the Philippines government regarding the potential introduction of a highly punitive new tax regime for miners.

Under plans reported last August, the government would receive 55% tax on a mining operation's adjusted net revenue or 10% tax on its gross revenue, plus a percentage of windfall profit, whichever is higher.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) has already expressed its opposition and concerns - a move that Bezant has supported.

Mankayan represents one of the world's largest undeveloped, JORC-compliant copper-gold resources capable of sustaining highly robust margins, said the firm, and recent remodelling has identified potential savings of more than US$300mln on the cost of development.

At metals prices of US$3.00 per pound of copper and US$1,250 per ounce of gold and a production rate of 20Mtpa (millions of tonnes per annum), the project returns an estimated post-tax NPV (net present value) of around US$739mln.

For the six months to December 31 last year, the group loss after tax was £328,000, compared to a loss of £798,000 in the comparable period, mainly reflecting costs for the group's licence obligations. It reduced expenditure by around 59% (£470,000) in the period, it added.

It had £2.1mln in cash at the period end and remains well-funded to satisfy its annual work obligations in the Philippines, it added.

Caledonia Mining tackles 2023 challenges with optimism for 2024 as it...

Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (AIM:CMCL, NYSE-A:CMCL) chief executive Mark Learmonth tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion the company faced a challenging 2023, primarily due to poor production in the first half of the year at its core asset, the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe, and an underperformance...

2 hours, 41 minutes ago