LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Gold exploration and development company GoldStone Resources announced on Thursday that the Ghanaian Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) has approved the recommendation for the grant of the expanded mining lease for the Akrokeri-Homase Gold Project (AKHM).

The AIM-traded firm said the recommendation was now subject to ratification by the relevant Ghanaian ministerial bodies.

In addition to the Homase South Pit, the company said the lease now accommodated the proposed Homase North and Homase Central pits, as well as the expanded Homase South Pit, as announced on 12 November, with the increased minable resource by 86,900 ounces of gold at depth, representing a 257% rise on the previous estimate of 33,800 ounces of gold, within the existing JORC resource.

The firm said it was in the process of updating the definitive economic plan, as it announced on 27 June 2019.

It said the lease had been granted for an initial period of 10 years to coincide with the date of the award of the original mining lease, as it announced on 14 February.

Upon receipt of the environmental permit for the Homase South Pit, based on the original lease, GoldStone said a corresponding application to the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be submitted for the lease.

The original baseline data used in the initial application to the EPA included the expanded area within the lease, the board explained.

At Homase South, the company said it was continuing to liaise with the EPA on the issue of the environmental permit, and with the Ghanaian Minerals Commission on the operational permits for the pit.

Though the Covid-19 pandemic had caused delays, the board said it remained in a position to immediately begin operations on receipt of the permits, with an estimated timeline for the first gold pour being within two months of such a grant.

The company said it had now taken delivery of the majority of the processing plant required at Homase South, including the pad HDPE lining system, along with crushing, screening, agglomeration and conveying, and stacking equipment, which had been fully assembled and cold-commissioned.

It had also received delivery of pumps, carbon-in-column (CIC) columns, electrical control panels and four 500 kVA diesel generators at site, ensuring that operations at site would be protected from the risk of unstable electricity supply.

"We are pleased to have received approved by the MLNR for the expanded lease and continue to work closely with the relevant Ghanaian Ministerial bodies to finalise the grant of the requisite permits to enable open pit mining to commence at Homase South Pit," said chief executive officer Emma Priestley.

At 1317 GMT, shares in GoldStone Resources were up 3.07% at 8.4p.

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