Stellar Diamonds (LON:STEL) expects to raise US$20mln in additional funding when it makes its licence application at Tongo.
Karl Smithson, chief executive, said it wants the funding to come from non-dilutive project debt structures.
Bulk sampling has been completed at the project in Sierra Leone, which has an inferred resource of 1.45 mln carats, despite the Ebola crisis.
Smithson said: “A surface mining study has also been completed, which identified a technique that is expected to allow us to mine from surface for three years whilst underground mine development is completed.
“This positively impacts on expected project economics and we intend to conduct an updated preliminary economic assessment which should justify the decision to apply for a mine lease for the project during 2015."
The licence application will include an environmental impact assessment and the updating and combining of existing technical and mining reports, he added.
The company recently sold its first diamonds from the Baoule project in Guinea following the start there of trial mining.
Processing to date has yielded over 4,100 carats at a grade of over 13cpht, Smithson said.
“We expect to continue the trial mining with an objective of at least 100,000 tonnes being processed in aggregate to establish the grade and value of the pipe with confidence, but importantly to recover some large, high value diamonds.”
Stellar posted a loss of US$0.93mln (US$1.55mln) in the half year to December 2014.
Shares were unchanged at 0.899p.