Bezant Resources will seek permission to close the deal with the owners of Namib Lead and Zinc Mining (NLZM) as it moves to acquire a 90% stake in the company’s processing plant — a key step in the development of its Hope and Gorob copper-gold project in central Namibia.
The AIM-listed explorer has released a detailed circular ahead of an 8 December 2025 shareholder vote in London, where investors will decide whether the acquisition can proceed.
Bezant has published the circular, which includes a letter from executive chairman Colin Bird, and has begun posting documents to shareholders.
The meeting at The Dome Room will determine whether the company may complete the Share and Asset Purchase Agreement for the NLZM Processing Plant, a facility Bezant intends to repurpose for copper-gold concentrate from Hope and Gorob. The company argues that approval is critical, warning that its licensed mine-development plan depends on access to the plant.
The directors, who together hold nearly 1.5 billion shares, say they will vote in favour of the acquisition and recommend that all shareholders do the same.
Before securing its mining licence, Bezant assessed several processing options. After audits by external technical experts, the company selected the NLZM Processing Plant — about 190 kilometres from Hope and Gorob — as the preferred route for treating copper-gold preconcentrate.
The plant, which last operated in 2020 for lead and zinc processing, has since been kept in reasonable condition through a care-and-maintenance programme.
It offers the advantage of existing infrastructure, power and water connections, and proximity to Walvis Bay export routes, while avoiding the financial and regulatory burden of building a new plant from scratch in the remote Matchless Belt.
Bezant cautions that if shareholders reject the deal, the company will be unable to implement the processing plan approved under its Namibian mining licence. That could complicate the project’s regulatory status and breach key conditions of its financing and offtake agreements.
Although a rejection will not trigger the break fee under the acquisition contract, it would significantly disrupt the project’s development timeline.
Under the Share and Asset Purchase Agreement signed on 13 August 2025, Bezant will pay the vendor US$2.5 million for the 90 per cent shareholding and associated assets, with a US$50,000 deposit already paid.
The seller will also receive 350 million warrants, along with a 1.5 per cent gross-revenue royalty and a tiered ore-processing fee, once the plant is operational.
These obligations are secured through share charges, debentures, and covenants that extend up to eight years after the plant reaches its processing threshold.
The circular outlines how the NLZM Processing Plant — initially built in 2018 but later sidelined due to metallurgical issues and weak lead-zinc prices — would be upgraded for copper-gold flotation.
External engineering specialists have recommended improvements to crushing, milling, flotation circuits, automation and dewatering. Direct field costs are estimated at roughly US$2.2 million, with indirect costs of up to US$0.73 million, depending on the contracting approach.
The Hope and Gorob project itself covers more than 150 kilometres of prospective geology across one mining licence and several exploration permits. The project includes the Hope, Vendome and Gorob ore bodies, with substantial additional potential at targets such as Anomaly, Luigi and Du Preez.
More than 69,000 metres of drilling have been completed. The mine’s environmental clearance was issued in April 2025, and its mining licence is valid until 2040.
According to the technical plan, run-of-mine ore will be crushed and processed through a dry ore-sorting system at the site, producing a high-grade copper-gold preconcentrate. This material will then be trucked to the NLZM Processing Plant for final flotation and concentrate production.
Contractors will carry out haulage, mining and blasting, while Bezant’s Namibian subsidiaries will manage grade control, plant operation and ongoing exploration. Development at the mine and the plant refurbishment will run in parallel.
The NLZM site, northeast of Swakopmund, comprises underground workings, primary and secondary crushers, a laboratory, workshops, grid power, and a water pipeline connected to the regional supply network. Its tailings facility has sufficient remaining capacity to accommodate nearly a decade of deposition at the intended throughput.
ML185, the associated mining licence, expires in February 2026 and is undergoing renewal — a factor Bezant acknowledges as time-sensitive.
NLZM’s 2024 accounts show net assets of N$258 million, excluding shareholder loans that will transfer to Bezant’s subsidiary upon closing. Although the mine has been inactive since 2020, the plant has been kept in strong condition.
For Bezant, the acquisition is essential to its strategy of transitioning Hope and Gorob into a producing copper-gold operation.
The company has exited non-core projects in Zambia and Argentina and centred its investment strategy on Namibia and Botswana.
The NLZM plant provides the processing backbone necessary to advance the project into production and secure long-term project financing.
The 8 December vote, therefore, marks a decisive point. Approval will allow Bezant to close the deal, proceed with the plant upgrade, and continue developing one of Namibia’s promising mid-tier copper-gold prospects. Rejection would force the company to reconsider its entire processing strategy and potentially delay or disrupt the project’s advancement.
