Shares in Stellar Diamonds PLC (LON: STEL) were today sparkling as it reported progress on its bid for a mining licence for its Tongo project in Sierra Leone.
The group has been "verbally informed" that the Minerals Advisory Board (MAB) has approved its application, it said.
However, the licensing process remains subject to the National Minerals Agency (NMA), the licencing body of the Ministry of Mines, formally writing to the firm to inform it of the decision and drawing up a licence agreement, which will then be forwarded to the Minister of Mines for approval.
Then, the tax terms of the licence will need to be negotiated between Stellar and the government and then the agreement will need to be ratified through parliament.
Stellar shares added 11.54% to 7.25p.