Galileo Resources PLC (AIM:GLR) has been awarded a small-scale mining licence for the Luansobe copper project in Zambia, where it has a 75% interest.
The mining licence covers an area where Galileo previously reported Inferred Mineral Resources of 56,000 tonnes of contained copper potentially amenable to open pit mining and 97,000 tonnes underground.
A further mining licence application is pending over the remainder of the former exploration licence where historic drilling suggests an exploration target of approximately three million to seven million tonnes with grades in the region of 1% to 1.5% total copper.
Colin Bird, chairman and CEO said: "We are pleased to receive the mining licence for Luansobe over the area of the proposed open pit.
“As stated previously, we intend to plan for the development of the open pit and accessible underground resources separate from a deeper drilling programme targeted at investigation of the extent of the deposit at depth.”