TSTR.L Share News (TSTR)

Antimony miner Tri-Star Resources has taken a step forward in securing environmental approval for a project in Oman.Tri-Star said its Omani joint venture company, Strategic & Precious Metals Processing (SPMP), in which it has a 40% stake, had received provisional approval from Oman's authorities for the waste treatment aspect of the environmental impact assessment report it submitted earlier this year.The company said the move was a key milestone in the environmental permission process for its $65m Oman antimony roaster scheme.It said negotiations with local banks were well advanced and SPMP has received banking facility terms, which it is now reviewing.Antimony is classified as a minor metal, growing in strategic importance. Over 90% of supplies of antimony metal come from China. The EU, the US and Japanese economies are import-dependent for the metal. The main use for antimony is as an additive in the chemical and plastics industry as a "synthesizer" for flame retardant compounds.Tri-Star added that its Middle East refractory gold (MERG) report, published a year ago, had moved on from being a conceptual technology plan to a developing business strategy.MERG uses the antimony roasting technology to process refractory gold ores. An estimated 30-50% of the world's gold resources in the ground are characterised as being refractory in nature and not easily amenable to processing by simple cyanide leaching.Shares in Tri-Star jumped 0.03p or 31.8% to 0.14p at 08:42 in London.