Bezant makes good progress at Colombia licence area

Mineral exploration and development company Bezant announced on Monday that its first gold platinum recovery plant, acquired on 31 May, had arrived on site at the FKJ-083 licence area in Colombia and was currently in the final stages of commissioning, with initial test production scheduled to occur by 30 June.

The AIM-traded firm said that, in preparation for regular production commencing in July, “extensive” earthworks and civil engineering works had already been completed at the site in order to prepare for plant assembly and operational commissioning.

Three tailings ponds had been constructed, which would enable the plant to operate using a closed water circuit, in a bid to maximise the recycling and reuse of water.

The three tailings ponds have a combined capacity of more than one million cubic metres, and the initial operational mining pit had also been developed in preparation for test production.

Bezant said the plant would process near-surface gravels from the regional alluvial deposit, using a proven mercury-free gravity fed system, to recover free gold and platinum which required “no further treatment or processing” prior to sale.

Once the plant is in full operation, Bezant said it would seek to construct further recovery plants in-country in order to expand its operations in the Choco region.

“This is the final stage in our production development strategy in Colombia and we look forward to establishing regular platinum and gold production during Q3 2017,” said CEO Bernard Olivier.

“Our objective is to rapidly build high-margin cash flow from near-surface recovery operations in Colombia.

“With the independent scoping study estimating all in opex costs of under $800/oz for a 12 month pilot operation, we believe that Bezant can create a robust production portfolio to take advantage of potential global supply fluctuations in platinum and gold.”