Bezant Resources (AIM:BZT) completed the first blast at the Hope open pit, part of its 90%-owned Hope & Gorob copper-gold project in Namibia.
The exploration and development company, which also holds projects in Botswana and Zambia, said the 20,000-tonne blast liberated approximately 2,000 tonnes of commercially viable mineralisation.
Preliminary evaluation shows the surface mineralisation matches the geological block model in both location and grade.
Bezant's grade control team will now compare assays from blasthole sampling against this surface expression, its first practical test of selecting run-of-mine ore for stockpiling.
Mining and transport of that ore to the Tsaoxaub Metals flotation plant will begin shortly to build a stockpile ahead of plant commissioning.
The plant site manager has been onboarded and recruitment of operators continues.
Bezant's mine geology team is working with external consultants Sound Mining to validate the existing block model.
Mining contractor Unitrans has started ground clearance and ore/waste separation ahead of a second blast, with blastholes already drilled.
"The blast was successful with excellent fragmentation and extremely well positioned relative to ore," said Colin Bird, Bezant's executive chairman.
He added that activity at the plant site "is intense" as the project moves towards its next milestones of ore input and saleable concentrate.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Bezant has executed its first production blast at Hope, liberating 2,000 tonnes of ore and validating its geological model ahead of stockpiling for the flotation plant. This marks the transition from pre-production testing to active mining—a material operational milestone for a junior developer. The blast geometry and ore grade matched predictions, and mining contractor Unitrans is now preparing the second blast while the flotation plant site manager has been onboarded and operator recruitment is underway.
The first blast confirms Bezant can execute the mining and grade-control plan at Hope, reducing execution risk on the path to concentrate production. With 100% offtake secured from Hartree Metals, the near-term focus is now on plant commissioning and ore delivery—both of which depend on sustained operational performance in the coming weeks.
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