"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

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?