Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) has received initial approval for a waste storage facility at its Block 4 and 5 copper projects in Oman utilising an old mine pit from the adjacent Lasail West mine.
David Archer, Savannah’s chief executive, said Oman’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) had asked for further studies and test work but it had been given the green light in principle.
Archer added that applications to start mining at both Mahab 4 and Maqail South had been submitted but licensing was taking longer than anticipated, which has pushed back the proposed production schedule with mining now expected to start in the first half of 2018.
Lasail West is adjacent to the historic Lasail underground mine, which produced 13Mt of ore at 2% copper and has potential for more to be discovered, Archer said.
Using the abandoned Lasail West pit would be an economic avenue for safe tailings storage, he said, and at the same time help rehabilitate the Lasail West site.