Hope & Gorob: Commercial Production Commences

Bezant Resources PLC

02 October 2026

 

2 October 2026

Bezant Resources Plc

("Bezant" or the "Company")

Hope & Gorob Copper-Gold Project:

Major Milestone as Commercial Production Commences

Bezant Resources Plc ("Bezant" or the "Company"), the copper mining company, in its recent interims reported that run of mine ore (“RoM”) from the newly developed Hope & Gorob mine was now being processed through the Company’s Tsoaxaub Metals flotation plant. 

The Company is pleased to provide further information on, operations to date, as well as initial planning for future expansion phases.

The commencement of production marks an important transition from development into revenue-generating operations. The commissioning process will continue over the coming weeks, producing copper-gold concentrate for sale, with steady ramp up scheduled for the rest of the year.

The Board of Bezant congratulates and thanks all those responsible for the exceptional achievement of completing site establishment, mine construction and plant development within only 21 weeks of groundbreaking at the Hope and Gorob mine site. The Board believes the Hope & Gorob project to be one of the few (and possibly the only) significant commercial copper hard rock mine to be brought into production by an emerging company on AIM from exploration through to production in over 15 years1.

Operational Highlights

• Mine and processing plant construction completed ahead of schedule and within internal budgets.
• Commercial concentrate production has now commenced.
• The plant is currently running as required and has so far not experienced any major mechanical issues.
• Initial throughput for October remains targeted at a minimum of 9,000 tonnes per month with our planned production profile to a nameplate capacity by the end of the year.
• Mine production with first saleable concentrate from the processing plant expected to be available for offtake in late October 2026.
• RoM mined to date (over the period from mid August) is over 40,000 tonnes of which 10,000 tonnes is at the stockpile at the processing plant.  Initial indications are that copper grades compare favourably with resource estimates and the Hope open pit block model and the gold grade within the RoM is so far currently exceeding forecast.

Planned development

• Phase II expansion planning which is already underway is focussed on a tandem processing plant with the capacity to increase throughput by up to 40% using RoM from the existing resource at the Hope and Goorb mine site.
• Further step-out and expansion drilling planned to commence upon achieving stable production and cash flow and will target an initial 500,000 tonnes of contained copper which is the anticipated minimum criteria for a possible Phase III new plant with a capacity of 25,000 tonnnes per year.

Colin Bird, Executive Chairman of Bezant, commented:

“The commencement of commercial production at Hope & Gorob is significant milestone for Bezant and a very encouraging start.  We will continue to increase mining and processing capacity within our plan to produce concentrate for sale as quickly as possible. Our immediate focus remains firmly on the achievement of sustainable production which we look forward to reporting to shareholders in due course.

We have also started the process of scaling Hope & Gorob with recent completion of the engineering assessment for the Phase II expansion and we will shortly start the process of resource drilling to hit our targeted contained copper resource ahead of scoping for a possible Phase III expansion programme. We will keep shareholders informed of progress both with the current operations and future plans for the mine”.

Note 1: Refers to hard-rock copper mining projects and excludes dump reprocessing, acquisitions of going concerns, and the reactivation of former producing mines.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law pursuant to the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) regulations (SI 2019/310).

Bezant Resources Plc  Colin Bird Executive Chairman	[phone]
Beaumont Cornish (Nominated Adviser)  Roland Cornish / Asia Szusciak	[phone]
AlbR Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Jon Belliss	[phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Damon Heath	[phone]

or visit http://www.bezantresources.com

Qualified Person:

The technical information contained in this announcement has been reviewed, verified, and approved by Colin Bird, CC.ENG, FIMMM, South African and UK Certified Mine Manager and Director of Bezant Resources plc, with more than 40 years' experience mainly in hard rock mining.

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter referred to in it.

Distribution: This announcement has been notified via a Regulatory Information Service and it is not authorised for distribution into North America or any other jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws or regulations of that jurisdiction.

Forward Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this announcement are or may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'' ''could'' "should" ''envisage'' ''estimate'' ''intend'' ''may'' ''plan'' ''will'' or the negative of those variations or comparable expressions including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures, competitive advantages business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions competition environmental and other regulatory changes actions by governmental authorities the availability of capital markets reliance on key personnel uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions. The Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements.

 

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