Bluebird Merchant Ventures Ltd (LON:BMV) saw its shares rise on Tuesday after the firm received a positive response to its application for a permit to develop the Gubong gold mine in South Korea.
The provincial government, the authority that will grant the permit under the authority of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), has requested clarification and additional information to support the application.
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This clarification is mostly technical in nature. The company has been given until 17 April 2019 to submit a reply. Bluebird is confident that it will be in a position to submit the formal responses ahead of the stated time.
"The South Korean authorities continue to impress us in their efficiency with regards to permit application processing, which are faster than industry norms,” said Colin Patterson, Bluebird’s chief executive.
“In my four decades working in the mining industry, reopening and operating mines in various parts of the world, I have never seen such a quick response by a government department to an application to develop a mine. This bodes very well for Bluebird.”
Bluebird is expecting a response to its application for Kochang in May.
In late morning trading, shares in Bluebird were 4.4% higher at 2.35p.
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