Bezant Resources plc (LON: BZT) has signed an agreement with Exumax S.A.S. that will enable production to begin at Bezant’s FKJ-083 licence area in Colombia.
Exumax has already been exploring the area for Bezant and will now undertake contract mining on its behalf.
In parallel deal Bezant has also acquired a processing and mobile test plant to handle the alluvial ore produced.
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The plant is capable of processing up to 100 cubic metres of material per hour, or 150 tonnes. Commissioning is targeted for the second or third quarter of 2017, and will mean that first platinum and gold is likely to be recovered within two months of the commencement of mining.
"Our focus on achieving initial gold-platinum production in the short-term is progressing well,” said Bezant chief executive Bernard Olivier. “Our intention remains to generate shareholder value from a revenue producing precious metals portfolio with highly robust margins."