"Executive chairman Gerry Nealon says Bezant's flagship Mankayan project in the Philippines has the potential to become a world class mine."

Bezant is a global AIM-listed company specialising in natural resource exploration and development. It is backed by an experienced team of geologists, metallurgists, engineers, chemists and commercial specialists.

Bezants principal focus since it began operation in 2007 has been on early-stage ventures in key commodity sectors. Currently, it has interests in two global assets: The Mankayan Project (a copper/gold porphyry project in the Philippines) and the gold enterprise Mkurumu Project in Tanzania. Bezant Resources has a 40% stake in the Mankayan copper-gold project on the Philippine island of Luzon and an option to acquire the remaining 60% for US$40,000. In Tanzania, it has a 46% stake in a joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti, and other exploration tenements.

It also recently announced the acquisition of highly prospective copper and gold exploration licences in the Jujuy Province of northwest Argentina (the Eureka Project).

Bezant Resources has revealed a maiden 189 million tonnes JORC ore reserve for the Mankayan copper/gold project in the Philippines.
The ore reserve and Mmneable inventory statements - prepared by Mining Plus Pty - reveal:
* Probable ore reserves of 189 million tonnes at 0.46% copper and 0.49g/t gold
* Total recoverable metal reserves of 811,000 tonnes of copper and 2,210,000 ounces of gold
* Mineable inventory increased to 389 million tonnes at 0.38% copper and 0.42g/t gold
* Total mineable inventory of 1.4 million tonnes of copper and 3.9 million ounces of gold

interesting mms being forced to buy from pis at mid....

gibby: Barclays Stockbrokers shows shares in issue as 65 million which I'm sure said broker meant to say. They also show a market cap' figure of 29 million. Interesting to note that Cazenove rate their chances of doing a deal. Singer Capital Markets have given a NAV 0f 1.22 per share, so we will see what happens!

grevis - agreed - i have had bezant on the radar for some time and have been sat holding a reasonable amount waiting for something to happen - i have not bought more today as already in -but have very high hopes for bezant - it is imo a good share to be in your 24 of 28 notes some of the reasons also

have noted last hour or so here practically all buys and should continue

Bezant completes first stage of Eureka project
StockMarketWire.com
Bezant Resources has completed the first stage of the initial work programme on its Eureka project in Argentina.

It says encouraging geophysical responses were identified with zones of high electrical chargeability and resistivity were identified from interpretation of a three-dimensional induced polarisation survey.

The Eureka project comprises a package of 11 highly prospective copper and gold exploration licences, covering, in aggregate, an area in excess of approximately 5,500 hectares.

Bezant is the sole operator and currently owns 15% of the project's holding company, Puna Metals, with an option to progressively acquire the remaining 85% subject to making certain staggered cash payments to 30 December 2012.

Executive chairman Gerry Nealon said: "I am delighted to announce the completion of the first stage of the initial work programme on our promising Eureka project in Argentina and look forward to progressing onto stage two of our evaluation of this attractive asset.

"Despite the current uncertain economic environment and market turmoil, discussions are at an advanced stage with respect to the potential disposal of our Mankayan project and we remain confident of achieving a satisfactory outcome in the near future."

That last paragraph seems to be what the market was looking for!

Bezant Resources (15/08/11) ↑
Sector: Mining Share Price: 29p Market Capitalisation: 18.85 Million
Bezant Resources (BZT) the gold and copper exploration and development company operating in the Philippines announces that its preferred acquirer for the Mankayan project is currently at an advanced stage in its comprehensive due diligence exercise and commercial negotiations with the Board. Although the Board cannot guarantee the timing and structure of the disposal it remains confident of a satisfactory outcome to its sale process. The Mankayan project has a JORC compliant total mineable inventory of 1.4 million tonnes of copper and 3.9 million ounces of gold. At metal prices of US$4.30/lb of copper and US$1,370/ oz of gold, the project has an estimated pre-tax NPV of approximately US$1.51 billion at a 7.75% discount rate and a pre-tax net cashflow of approximately US$10.56 billion.

Following the sale of Mankayan the company will focus on the development of its Eureka project located in the Jujuy Province of north-west Argentina and has announced the completion of stage one of the initial exploration programme. During the initial stage, Bezant has identified through interpretation of a historic three-dimensional Induced Polarisation (IP) survey a broad consistent zone of high electrical chargeability in the central part of the survey area. The identified zones of high electrical chargeability and resistivity provide additional targets for the drilling phase of Bezant's planned exploration programme. The company has recently engaged Ayni Consulting Group S.R.L. in Argentina to assist it with the formulation and preparation of stage two of the initial work programme which will include:

Regional and local geological reconnaissance and mapping to gain a better understanding of the structural and stratigraphic nature of the mineralisation;

Surface and underground rock chip sampling; and

Preparation of a comprehensive reverse circulation ("RC") and / or rotary air blast ("RAB") drilling programme with associated sampling and testing.

Today's news will provide a significant boost to shareholders who have been eagerly awaiting an update from the company on its two projects. Valued at under 20 million, the attraction of an advancing Mankayan sale is likely to grab the attention of many investors looking to profit from the sale of the project.

5 October 2011
Bezant Resources Plc

Proposed Grant of an Option for the Disposal of Asean Copper Investments Limited and Notice of General Meeting

Highlights:

Option agreement entered into for the disposal of Asean Copper Investments Limited ("Asean") to Gold Fields Netherlands Services BV ("Gold Fields") (the "Option Agreement").

Summary terms of the Option Agreement:

o Non-refundable, upfront cash payment of US$7 million

o A further cash sum of US$63 million is payable, on exercise of the option, to acquire the entire issued share capital of Asean

o The option may be exercised by Gold Fields at any time until 31 January 2013

The proposed transaction, which is unanimously recommended by the Bezant board, is subject to the approval of Bezant shareholders at a General Meeting to be held at 10.00 a.m. on 26 October 2011.

In the event that the option is exercised and the sale of Asean is completed, Bezant currently intends to apply the net sale proceeds as follows:

o a proportion will be retained to fund the ongoing work programme and further development of the Company's Eureka Project in Argentina, to investigate the potential acquisition of additional attractive mineral projects and for general working capital purposes; and

o the balance returned to Bezant shareholders.

Gerry Nealon, Executive Chairman, commented:

"We are very pleased to announce this transaction with Gold Fields, subject to shareholder approval, with respect to the potential disposal of our wholly owned subsidiary, Asean, at a time of considerable macroeconomic uncertainty and volatility.

Gold Fields already holds an option over Lepanto's Far Southeast copper/gold project, which is located adjacent to our Mankayan Project in the Philippines, and significant investment in infrastructure and capital expenditure will be required to bring each of the respective projects into production. Gold Fields' ongoing exploration activities at Far Southeast are expected to identify synergistic benefits, giving us confidence that their option with Lepanto will be exercised within the next twelve to eighteen months.

The negotiation of this transaction with Gold Fields follows an extensive sale process conducted by the Company with a number of interested parties and we believe represents the best means of delivering value to our shareholders in the relatively near term.

We will now focus on realising the full potential of our Eureka Project and look forward to creating and delivering further long term value to Bezant shareholders."

Introduction

Bezant (AIM: BZT), the AIM listed gold and copper exploration and development company operating in the Philippines, Argentina and Tanzania, is pleased to announce that further to its comprehensive strategic review and sale process, it has entered into an option agreement (the "Option Agreement") dated 4 October 2011 (the "Exchange Date") with Gold Fields Netherlands Services BV ("Gold Fields").

Pursuant to the Option Agreement, Gold Fields has been granted, conditional on shareholder approval, an option to acquire the entire issued share capital of Asean Copper Investments Limited ("Asean"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bezant (the "Option"). Asean holds the Group's entire interest in its flagship copper/gold Mankayan Project, which as at 30 June 2011 had an unaudited carrying value of approximately 7.45 million. The Mankayan Project covers a total of 534 hectares in the Guinaoang area in the Mankayan-Lepanto mining district, approximately 240 kilometres north of Manila, in the Republic of the Philippines.

The future exercise of the Option, should it occur, would give rise to a fundamental change of business pursuant to Rule 15 of the AIM Rules for Companies (the "AIM Rules") as it would divest the Company of a substantial proportion of its prevailing gross assets. Accordingly, the Company is today posting, to those shareholders who have elected to receive hard copy shareholder communications from the Company, a circular (the "Circular") containing a formal notice convening a General Meeting to be held at 10.00 a.m. on 26 October 2011 at the offices of Joelson Wilson LLP, 30 Portland Place, London W1B 1LZ to seek shareholder approval for the grant of the Option and the potential future sale by the Company of Asean in accordance with Rule 15 of the AIM Rules. The Circular and form of proxy will also shortly be made available to download from the Company's website at www.bezantresources.com.

Principal terms of the Option Agreement

Pursuant to the terms of the Option Agreement, in return for a non-refundable upfront cash payment of US$7 million (the "Option Fee") Gold Fields has been granted an Option, conditional on shareholder approval, to purchase the entire issued share capital of Asean for a further cash sum of US$63 million (the "Exercise Price"). Asean directly holds 40% of the issued share capital of Crescent Mining and Development Corporation ("Crescent"), the Contractor under Mineral Production Sharing Agreement 057-96-CAR (the "MPSA") and the Applicant under Application for Production Sharing Agreement No. 041 (the "Application"). The MPSA and the Application cover Crescent's Mankayan Project. Asean also holds an option with Bezant Holdings Inc. ("BHI"), to acquire or assign the remaining 60% of Crescent's issued share capital subject to applicable Philippine law or 'qualified persons' for mineral agreements.

The key material terms of the Option Agreement are as follows:

The Option Agreement may be terminated by either party serving notice on the other if the approval of Bezant's shareholders, being the sole condition to the agreement, has not been obtained within thirty-one business days' of the Exchange Date (the "Long Stop Date").

During the period commencing on the Exchange Date and ending on the earlier of the Long Stop Date, the first business day immediately after the date on which shareholder approval has been obtained or the date of termination (the "Exclusivity Period"), Bezant is, inter alia, prevented from directly or indirectly soliciting expressions of interest or offers from third parties to acquire control or a majority economic interest in any member of the Group or the Mankayan Project ("Competing Proposal") and Gold Fields has a right to match any such Competing Proposal received by Bezant during this time period.

In the event that a superior Competing Proposal is received by Bezant during the Exclusivity Period and Bezant completes such Competing Proposal in accordance with its terms, Bezant has agreed to pay a termination fee of US$750,000.

On receipt of shareholder approval, the grant of the Option to Gold Fields will become unconditional and Gold Fields will pay Bezant an Option Fee of US$7 million in cash. The Option Fee is non-refundable (unless there has been a breach of a title warranty or a capacity warranty). The Option may then be exercised by Gold Fields at any time until 31 January 2013, but if the Option is not exercised by Gold Fields within this time period, then the Option shall lapse.

Gold Fields may terminate the Option Agreement at any time by serving at least 20 business days' notice on Bezant.

On signing the Option Agreement, the Company provides Gold Fields with various warranties and indemnities, including warranties in relation to title and capacity, of the type commonly found in such agreements. The Company's aggregate liability under such warranties and indemnities is limited to an amount equal to the Option Fee received by Bezant.

Gold Fields is under no obligation to exercise the Option.

In the event that the Option is exercised by Gold Fields, Bezant will repeat the title, capacity and certain other warranties and Bezant shall sell and Gold Fields shall purchase the entire issued share capital of Asean for cash consideration of US$63 million. Bezant's aggregate liability under the warranties and indemnities after exercise of the Option is then limited to an amount equal to the aggregate of the Option Fee and the Exercise Price received by Bezant. There is also a time limit on bringing warranty claims of three months after the sale completes, and 3 years and 7 years in respect of indemnities, and a provision that provides that no claim or claims can be brought unless the aggregate amount exceeds US$500,000.

Until completion of the potential future sale and transfer of the issued share capital in Asean (or if applicable, until such time as the Option lapses), the Company has agreed not to carry out or omit to carry out (as the case may be) certain prescribed actions of the type commonly found in such agreements, without the express consent of Gold Fields, which would otherwise have an adverse effect on Asean, Crescent or the Mankayan Project.

The Option Agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Future direction of the Company and use of the potential sale proceeds

The Board of directors of Bezant (the "Board") believes that granting the Option to Gold Fields represents the best means of realising value for Bezant's shareholders from the Mankayan Project in the relatively near term. Accordingly, the Board unanimously recommends that Bezant shareholders vote in favour of this transaction, in the absence of a superior proposal.

In the event that the Option is exercised and the sale and transfer of the issued shares in Asean is completed, the Company will continue to operate as a mineral exploration company and intends to retain a proportion of the net sale proceeds to fund the ongoing work programme and further development of its Eureka Project in Argentina, to investigate the potential acquisition of additional attractive mineral projects in the natural resources sector and for general working capital purposes. Subject to obtaining advice from its financial, legal and tax advisers, the Company ultimately intends to distribute the balance of the net sale proceeds that are surplus to its then short to medium term strategic objectives and funding requirements, to its Shareholders.

In the event that the Option is unconditionally granted but is not exercised and lapses or terminates, the Company intends to use the proceeds from the non-refundable Option Fee to fund the ongoing work programme and further development of its Eureka Project in Argentina and for general working capital purposes.

General Meeting

A Circular containing a formal notice of a General Meeting to be held at the offices of Joelson Wilson LLP, 30 Portland Place, London WIB 1LZ at 10.00 a.m. on 26 October 2011 is today being posted, together with a form of proxy, to those shareholders who have elected to receive hard copy shareholder communications from the Company and will shortly be made available to download from the Company's website at www.bezantresources.com.

Unless the context otherwise requires, defined terms used in this announcement shall have the meanings given to them in the Circular dated 5 October 2011.

Notes to editors:

Bezant is currently focussed primarily on the copper and gold mineral sector and its flagship project is its Mankayan copper/gold project situated in the Mankayan-Lepanto mining district of the Philippines, an area of established copper and gold mining. The deposit is located approximately 240km north of Manila and 6km east of the copper/gold mine owned and operated by Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company. Since its discovery in the early 1970s, extensive drilling (more than 45,000 metres over 48 holes) and metallurgical work has been undertaken by Goldfields Asia Ltd, Pacific Falkon Resources Corp and others. Bezant currently has a JORC compliant mineral resource of 221.6 million tonnes Indicated and 36.2 million tonnes Inferred, grading at 0.49% for copper and 0.52g/t for gold, at a 0.4% copper cut-off. This equates to an Indicated Resource of 2.42 billion pounds (1.1 million tonnes) of copper and 3.7 million ounces of gold, with a further Inferred Resource of 0.44 billion pounds (0.2 million tonnes) of copper and 600,000 ounces of gold. In December 2010, the Company upgraded its independent Mankayan resource estimate to JORC Compliant Probable Ore Reserves of 189 million tonnes grading at 0.46% copper and 0.49g/t gold, resulting in total Recoverable Metal Reserves of 811,000 tonnes of copper and 2.21 million ounces of gold. A Total Mining Inventory Statement was also reported of approximately 400Mt of ore at an average grade of 0.38% copper and 0.42g/t gold.

The 11 licences comprising the Eureka Project are located in north-west Jujuy near to the Argentine border with Bolivia and are formally known as Mina Eureka, Mina Eureka II, Mina Sur Eureka, Mina Gino I, Mina Gino II, Mina Mason I, Mina Mason II, Mina Julio I, Mina Julio II, Mina Paul I and Mina Paul II, covering, in aggregate, an area in excess of approximately 5,500 hectares and accessible via a series of gravel roads. To date, no JORC compliant or equivalent resource estimate has been established, but historic exploration activities have been conducted on the project area since the 1980s by Minera Penoles, Codelco and Mantos Blancos, with unaudited unclassified estimates in the order of, in aggregate, up to approximately 62 million tonnes grading at 1% copper and approximately 52,000 ounces of gold as credits. The copper oxide mineralisation occurs in loosely consolidated conglomerates and is the focus of the project's economic potential. The near surface mineralisation is amenable to heap leaching, while the carbonate content of the conglomerate is reported to be low, thereby reducing potential acid consumption.

expect more blue here monday - the 35p cash back to share holders is there already once funds received but will have to wait best part of 12 months for that - massive bonus in addition to other opportunites here - should really be worth at least double today's price as is - gla

RNS Number : 6429V
Bezant Resources PLC
16 January 2012

Director's Dealings
Bezant (AIM: BZT), the AIM listed gold and copper exploration and development company operating in the Philippines, Argentina and Tanzania, announces that it received notification today of certain share purchases by its Executive Directors.

These share purchases follow the expiry of an approximate year long close period following the Company's announcement of 5 October 2011 in respect of the grant of an option for the potential disposal of its Mankayan Project and the more recent announcement of 4 January 2012 that Bezant had secured ownership over 100 per cent. of the Eureka Project in Argentina for a reduced final option payment.

Details of the share purchases and the new beneficial shareholdings of the Executive Directors are as follows:

Director

Dates of share purchases
No. of Shares purchased
Average purchase price
Total number of shares now held
Percentage of issued share capital now held

Gerard Nealon
5th, 6th and 9th - 13th January 2012
363,000
27.75p
363,000
0.56%

Bernard Olivier
5th, 6th and 9th - 13th January 2012
445,800
26.10p
445,800
0.69%

THIS IS MONEY INVESTMENT EXTRA: Bezant Resources, a safe place to dig in and wait By Ian Lyall Last updated at 10:03 AM on 29th October 2011 Small-cap stocks have endured a pretty rough ride of late – more so than their larger and more illustrious stock market brethren. Perversely, it is the stuff more likely to affect the blue chips directly – Europe’s debt crisis and the threat of a double-dip recession – that has scared off the usually hardy bunch that punt on the junior AIM market. Volumes are at depressed levels. Investors, when they do wade in, generally seem to lack conviction.
The FTSE AIM 100, a proxy for the general health of the small-cap market, has fallen by more than a fifth in the past three months. By contrast, the FTSE 100 list of blue-chip stocks is down just 7 per cent in that same period. The sell-off among the minnows has been indiscriminate, and while painful for the companies it means there are bargains out there.

One that caught my eye was Bezant Resources, a small copper and gold explorer that has done a smart deal with one of the mining world’s movers and shakers. The company is in the process of tying up a £44m ($70m) deal to sell its Mankayan copper and gold project in the Philippines to South Africa’s Gold Fields.

The deal was put to an investor vote on Wednesday – the same day it revealed that 50 per cent of the proceeds would be returned to investors via a special distribution. This is equivalent of 35p a share, or 5.5p more than the company’s current share price. Investors are then still left with a promising copper project in Argentina, which will be fast-tracked in a very similar way to Mankayan. The remainder of the money from the deal, minus taxes and expenses, will be used to develop this asset.

In Bezant you have an investment worth more than twice as much as the company’s current market capitalisation of just under £20m. So what’s the catch? Well, for one thing Bezant won’t receive payment in full for its Philippines asset for more than a year. Gold Fields has what’s called an option over the Makayan, though it is paying £4.4m ($7m) upfront in the form of a non-refundable deposit to secure the deal.

Now it seems that those following the stock are a little nervous about this extended waiting period before Bezant gets its hands on the lolly. However there is a very simple explanation for this, according to Bezant’s technical director Bernard Olivier. It allows Gold Fields to complete the £213m ($340m) purchase of the neighbouring Far Southeast deposit from Lapanto Consolidated Mining. Olivier explained: ‘Goldfields are in the middle of a very, very big acquisition next to us. They have paid $120m already, and have to pay another $220m, which is pretty much stretching their acquisition budget in the region to the limit. As a result our acquisition is being completed in January 2013

‘As a result our acquisition is being completed in January 2013 in order to take us into the next financial year.’ Bezant is the epitome of a successful explorer. It acquired its land position in the Philippines for £500,000 plus 6 million shares and has spent a further £5m developing the project with a programme of exploratory drilling.

In negotiating the Gold Fields deal it has turned this upfront investment into £44m. Olivier and chairman Gerry Nealon now plan to repeat the trick in Argentina. But this time they may even take the project into production. The infrastructure of the northern-most part of the country is good – there are roads and electricity – and, more importantly, the geology looks favourable. Just to the north and west over the border is the Chilean city of Antofagasta, which gives its name to the FTSE 100 listed miner, as well as being one of the copper centres of the world.

OUR VIEW: A stock to buy, hold and forget about until the market finally does catch on. Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-2054808/INVESTMENT-EXTRA-Bezant-Resources-safe-place-dig-wait.html#ixzz1jdzWyb72

From the Gold Fields Intergrated Annual Review issued 30 March 2012:

http://www.goldfields.co.za/reports/ar_dec_2011/pdf/integrated_ann_rev_2011.pdf

Pg112
“In September 2011, Gold Fields signed an option agreement with Bezant Resources Plc to acquire 100% of the Mankayan coppergold project located on the island of Luzon. The Mankayan project is immediately adjacent to the Far Southeast project (p116-118) and contains a significant buried goldcopper porphyry deposit located at Guinaoang, about 4km east of the Far Southeast deposit. Diamond drilling is planned at Mankayan in 2012.”

Pg116
“The Far Southeast gold-copper project in the Philippines continues to represent one of our best greenfields growth opportunities. Far Southeast is located in an existing mining camp operated by Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company in northern Luzon. As a result, the project has good access to established infrastructure, including roads, tailings facilities, power and water. Following positive ongoing drilling results we made a third downpayment of US$110 million in March 2012 under our option agreement with Lepanto and Liberty Express Assets to acquire a 60% interest in the deposit. Gold Fields now owns 40% of Far Southeast and should we decide to proceed with the acquisition of the remaining 20% interest, the final payment of US$110 million is expected to be paid during the second half of 2012. The total acquisition price for this 60% interest is US$340 million.
The deep nature of the deposit – beginning at 900 meters below surface – means it will require underground shafts, a refrigeration plant, ventilation and other related infrastructure. In this context, Gold Fields is particularly well placed to leverage its extensive deep-underground mining experience in South Africa….
…Far Southeast is evaluating bulk underground mining of between 4 million and 25 million tonnes per year – depending on the development of a plan that is socially, environmentally and economically responsible. The mine is expected to utilise twin declines and twin shafts, as well as a conventional copper floatation process plant. In terms of infrastructure, Far Southeast is evaluating a pipeline to take the copper concentrate to the coast – as well as other transport alternatives.”

After a capital repayment of 8p per share Bezant has sunk to about 20p.Goldfields,Netherlands have the option to purchase the Phillipine assets for about £40m or the equivalent of some 60p per share. They are already a large shareholder of Bezant so what is stopping them from buying up the company with an offer of ,say,30p per share?Anyone got any ideas why the price is so low?

These are on the move up.Any one got reliable news?