Bezant Resources (AIM:BZT) has widened the economic runway at its Hope and Gorob copper‑gold project in Namibia after independent consultants Sound Mining produced a new JORC‑compliant Mineral Resource Estimate dated 28 February 2026 that increases the Hope open‑pit resource more than sevenfold versus the 2023 model.
The 2026 Mineral Resource, the company said, reports gross open‑pit tonnage rising from 0.41Mt in 2023 to just over 3Mt.
Classification within the optimised pit shell now shows 1.1Mt Measured, 0.5Mt Indicated and 1.4Mt Inferred (all gross). Bezant currently holds 70% of Hope and Gorob Mining (Pty) Ltd and, following a 20% interest acquisition announced on 24 March 2026, its attributable interest will rise to 90% (Bezant’s net figures are presented on a 90% basis in the company’s tables).
The update has immediate operational consequences. At a planned feed rate of 0.4Mt per year into an on‑site ore sorter, Hope’s open‑pit life of mine expands from around 1 year to approximately 7.5 years and the strip ratio falls from 11:1 to 9:1 — a change the company says materially reduces mining costs. Sound Mining’s pit optimisation used a copper price of USD11,500/t, a 50° slope angle, processing costs of USD14.76/t and fixed costs of USD1.8m per annum, producing a pit shell of roughly 4.9M m3 and an economic cutoff grade of 0.5% Cu.
Bezant also flagged additional upside not included in the 2026 Resource: 3.6Mt of mineralisation in inventory that could be upgraded, plus 1.3Mt of low‑grade material (0.3–0.5% Cu) within the pit shell that the ore sorter could upgrade into saleable material.
The company added that significant mineralisation occurs outside the current pit shell and in‑house estimates suggest a minimum further five years of open‑pittable production could be achievable with additional drilling.
Management says the resource confidence allows it to accelerate Phase 2 development by five years. Phase 2 envisages a new flotation plant, subject to statutory approvals and located closer to Walvis Bay, capable of producing 25,000 tonnes of copper metal annually, which Bezant calculates would generate roughly US$290m in revenue at US$11,500 per tonne.
"We are very excited about the progress we made with the current project and look forward to getting into production this year with a seamless ramp‑up, since we commence production with the benefit of a previously working plant, which we have upgraded for productivity and efficiency," Colin Bird, Executive Chairman, said.
