LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Precious and base metals exploration and development company Greatland Gold has lodged two applications for new exploration licences adjacent to existing licences at its wholly-owned Ernest Giles project in Western Australia.

The AIM-traded firm said the two applications at Mount Smith and Welstead Hill cover a total area of 1,070 square kilometres, and joined existing tenure at the Ernest Giles project, 250 kilometres north east of Laverton in the Western Australian goldfields.

It said the new applications increased the footprint of the project to 1,950 square kilometres, from 880 square kilometres.

The new licence applications covered a prospective Archean greenstone rock sequence, and were acquired following an internal review of historic and recent regional exploration data, which concluded the broader project area was prospective for gold, nickel and base metals mineralisation.

Ahead of the expected grant of the licences, Greatland said it would focus on enhancing its targeting criteria, and refine locations for future drill holes.

"The new licences represent an excellent opportunity to double the size of our footprint across the underexplored Ernest Giles greenstone belt," said chief executive officer Shaun Day.

"Following a detailed internal review of exploration data, we have identified compelling structural targets in an area containing dense and magnetic units of Archean greenstone sequences, with potential for gold, nickel and base metals mineralisation.

"This aligns with our strategy to seek to discover tier 1 deposits both through the ramp-up of exploration activities across our existing 100% owned licences and by identifying new opportunities that can bring value to Greatland."

At 1026 BST, shares in Greatland Gold were up 0.71% at 19.44p.

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