Vast Resources PLC's (LON:VAST) Romanian subsidiary has been granted a prospecting licence over an extended perimeter at the site of its Manaila Polymetallic Mine (MPM).
The award, to Vast's 50.1%-owned SC Sinarom Mining Group, sees the mining licence area extended by an additional 1.323 square kilometres (km2), a more than 20-fold increase in the total prospecting licence area.
Vast said historical exploration points to potential ore body extensions to the north-west and the south-east, while current resource drilling indicates additional resources on the existing MPM licence area.
A phase 1 drilling campaign on the extended prospecting licence will commence in the south-east during the second quarter of this year, the company revealed.
On completion of the exploration programme, the defining of reserves and resources and the preparation of a mine plan, Sinarom is entitled to apply for a mining licence on the additional area.
Vast said that, in addition to the potential increase in minerals resources, the drilling campaign forms part of the company's strategy to convert its resources, currently reported under the Romanian reserves and reporting system – which is essentially the same as the Russian reporting system – to the more internationally recognised Joint Ore Resource Committee (JORC) reporting code. The company hopes to be JORC-compliant by the end of this year.
"The additional prospecting area granted at our Manaila operation provides Sinarom with the possible opportunity to increase its resource base at the mine,” said Roy Pitchford, chief executive of Vast Resources.
“Historic exploration data indicates mineralised areas to both the south-east and north-west of our current ore body. The potential increase in mineral resources from the additional area would facilitate an increase in the MPM life-of-mine through a low risk, brown-fields expansion strategy underpinning the current robust mining operation," Pitchford said.
Meanwhile, regarding the legal delays at the Baita Plai polymetallic mine, Vast Resources remains in constant contact with the relevant authorities and is confident that in the near future it will be granted the right to mine the prospect.