The Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has granted De Grey Mining the mining lease for its Hemi gold project.
The lease covers the Hemi deposits, proposed mining area and processing plant site.
De Grey invested $12 million in the Hemi deposit back in 2020, after calculating a 2.2-million-ounce mineral resource at the site. Since then, the gold resource has only continued to grow.
“The grant of the Hemi mining lease is another significant milestone for De Grey and further demonstrates the company’s systematic approach to de-risking the Hemi gold project,” De Grey managing director Glenn Jardine said.
“For De Grey shareholders and potential financiers this is a critical approval on the pathway to bringing Hemi into production.”
De Grey has also received mining leases for six regional deposits in the area, including Wingina, Amanda, Mt Berghaus, Calvert, Withnell and Mallina. The leases have been granted for an initial term of 21 years.
“We are committed to ensuring the project creates sustainable long-term benefits to stakeholders and look forward to updating our investors with the outcomes of the definitive feasibility study for Hemi in the coming weeks,” Jardine said.
The commencement of project development remains subject to statutory, including environmental approvals.
De Grey submitted environmental approvals to the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and the WA Environmental Protect Authority in May and June 2023 respectively.