LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - European Metals Holdings said on Thursday that the Czech Ministry of the Environment has granted Geomet the preliminary mining permit related to the Northwestern part of the Cinovec deposit.
The AIM-traded firm said the permit was issued for a period of eight years.

A preliminary mining permit is a necessary legal pre-qualification before obtaining a final mining permit, and guarantees the company the priority right to apply for and obtain a final mining area and permit.

The preliminary approval for the northwestern part of the deposit covers an area of 1.27 square kilometres and, together with the existing preliminary mining permits, now encompased the entire Cinovec ore reserve.

European Metals Holdings said the permit "significantly strengthens" Geomet's position as the only possible miner, and paved the way for obtaining the remaining permits to start construction, mining, and processing activities.

Geomet is owned by European Metals Holdings at 49% and CEZ at 51%, through its wholly-owned subsidiary SDAS.

"With 100% of the Cinovec ore reserve now covered by preliminary minint permits, Geomet is now the sole company that can apply for a final mining permit across the Cinovec Ore Reserve, which is Europe's largest hard rock lithium reserve and a globally significant deposit," said managing director Keith Coughlan.

"With the recent investment of €29.1m into Geomet by CEZ, this security of tenure now allows Geomet to focus on rapidly advancing the feasibility and permitting of Cinovec."

At 1446 BST, shares in European Metals Holdings were up 7.76% at 13.2p.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE