Highfield Resources Ltd (ASX:HFR) is trading higher after receiving authorisation from the Government of Navarra to build on non-urbanised land, the electricity line to the mine site at its Muga Potash Project in Spain.
In line with local licensing procedural laws, the town hall of Sangüesa required an official authorisation from the Government of Navarra to allow construction of the electricity line on non-urbanised land before it can complete the construction licence.
The authorisation to build the line is a key step in advancing the grant of the construction licence by the Government of Navarra.
Shares have been as much as 13.84% higher intraday to A$1.075, a new high of more than four years while the company's market cap is approximately A$382.65 million.
“First concrete result”
Highfield CEO Ignacio Salazar said: “The authorisation for the electricity line from the Government of Navarra is the first concrete result from a lot of work undertaken with the local urbanistic administrations.
“We remain deeply engaged with all administrations to expedite the procedures and advance them in parallel with the rest of the preparatory work for the construction of Muga.”
Licensing process
The town halls of Sangüesa (Navarra) and Undués de Lerda (Aragón) are responsible for the construction licences for the process plant and the mine gate respectively.
The part of the electricity line in Navarra is an element of the main construction licence of the processing plant, however, the company requested the authorisation for the electricity line to be approved separately so that it could get it ahead of the main licence.
Notably, the construction of the electricity line is subject to the urbanistic authorisations of the installations which will supply electricity.
Next steps
Highfield has been maintaining significant engagement with the town halls of Sangüesa and Undués de Lerda as well as the governments of Navarra and Aragón to continue to expedite construction licences.
Additionally, the Spanish electricity network, Red Eléctrica de España ( REE), recently announced its Electricity Transmission Network Plan for Navarra up to 2026 to promote green energy and it has already incorporated the connection of the Muga Project to the electricity main network at its Sangüesa substation in its plan.
Importantly, this connection provides access to a higher voltage network than the electricity line recently authorised by the government of Navarra and which is going to be used during construction.
Therefore, the connection to REE will be a significant advantage for the mine at its operational phase.