Bezant Resources missed its September target to produce the first copper-gold concentrate from the Hope & Gorob project in Namibia, despite completing plant modifications and building a stockpile of about 10,000 tonnes of run-of-mine ore.
The London-listed company had said earlier in September that it would process the first run-of-mine ore that month and that the project remained on track to produce its first concentrate before the end of September.
However, in its interim results released on 30 September, Bezant confirmed it had not yet produced its first concentrate.
The company did not give a specific reason for missing the September target, but said it had completed modifications and upgrades to the Tsoaxaub Metals Processing Plant and that commissioning remained the immediate priority.
Meanwhile, mining at the Hope deposit has produced approximately 10,000 tonnes of run-of-mine material, providing an initial stockpile for processing.
Bezant said it had recruited all key employees required for the initial operating phase, with the mining and haulage fleet on site and initial blasting at the Hope open pit completed.
The missed September target represents a short delay in a project that has been moving through mine development, plant refurbishment and commissioning during 2026.
Hope & Gorob ore is being mined from the Hope deposit before processing through infrastructure associated with the Tsoaxaub Metals operation, the former Namib Lead and Zinc mine acquired as part of Bezant’s strategy to bring Hope & Gorob into production.
The company acquired the processing operation to provide an existing route to concentrate production rather than construct an entirely new processing facility for the project.
Bezant has also secured financing and an offtake arrangement with Hartree Metals to support the move into production. Under the agreement, Hartree is expected to purchase the operation’s copper concentrate.
The project’s production plans were strengthened earlier this year when Bezant reported an updated JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate for the Hope deposit of about 3 million tonnes.
The resource comprises approximately 1.1 million tonnes in the Measured category, 500,000 tonnes in the Indicated category, and 1.4 million tonnes in the Inferred category.
The update extended the estimated open-pit mine life to about 7.5 years at a planned processing rate of approximately 400,000 tonnes annually.
Bezant has also identified additional mineralisation outside the current open-pit resource and is evaluating the potential for a longer-term expansion of the operation.
The immediate test for the project, however, is to complete commissioning and convert the approximately 10,000 tonnes of stockpiled ore into its first concentrate after the September production target passed without output.
