Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML) has received approval from the South Australian government following two submissions relating to a programme for environment protection and rehabilitation at the Leigh Creek copper project.
The approvals cover the Mountain of Light processing facility, as well as the Paltridge North and Lynda deposits.
Meanwhile, a study of previous metallurgical work has shown that the ore is highly leachable with standard leaching technology.
The plan now is to restart copper production around mid-2019 from mining and using the Mountain of Light processing operations.
"Leigh Creek Copper Mine entering an exciting phase as we begin to formulate the optimal processing flowsheet for the project,” said managing director John Peters.
“This will be derived from the current drilling programme and subsequent metallurgical test work. I have been directly reviewing operations and I am delighted with the progress the highly experienced LCCM team have achieved to date. This has reinforced my confidence that we can, during 2019, deliver a project that will provide a second income stream for Strategic Minerals.”