en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 13, the first blast was completed at the Hope open pit at the Hope and Gorob copper-gold project in Namibia, in which the company holds a 90% interest. The blast involved approximately 20,000 tonnes of rock and is expected to release around 2,000 tonnes of commercially viable mineralized material.
Preliminary on-site assessments indicate that the location and grade of the mineralized zone exposed after the blast are broadly consistent with the project's geological block model. The project's grade control team will compare the assay results from blast hole sampling with surface mineralization observations and use this data to initiate the identification and stockpiling of the first run-of-mine ore.
Mining and logistics contractor Unitrans has begun clearing the blast area and separating ore from waste rock, and the drill holes for the second blast have also been completed. The project's next phase will involve commencing run-of-mine ore extraction and haulage, delivering ore to the Tsaoxaub Metals flotation plant to establish a feed stockpile for processing facility commissioning. The processing plant site manager has assumed duty, and recruitment of operators is ongoing.
Bezant previously signed a five-year mining and logistics services agreement with Unitrans, covering drilling, blasting, secondary breaking, loading and hauling, road maintenance, and short-term mine planning. The project employs a two-stage processing approach: ore is first crushed and subjected to multi-sensor dry sorting at the mine site, with the pre-concentrate then transported to the existing flotation plant to produce copper concentrate.
The 2026 updated mineral resource estimate shows that the Hope open pit has mineable resources exceeding 3 million tonnes, comprising 1.1 million tonnes of measured resources, 0.5 million tonnes of indicated resources, and 1.4 million tonnes of inferred resources. Based on an annual processing rate of 400,000 tonnes, the current open pit phase has an estimated life of approximately 7.5 years, with the strip ratio reduced from 11:1 to 9:1.
Project construction and processing plant commissioning are supported by a US$7 million prepayment financing facility provided by Hartree Metals. Hartree will also offtake all copper concentrate produced over the entire life of the project under market-based terms. Bezant plans to produce its first copper-gold concentrate in the third quarter of 2026, with monthly shipment volumes to be progressively increased thereafter.
