LONDON (Alliance News) - Mkango Resources Ltd on Tuesday said the Malawi government has granted a two-year renewal for its Phalombe licence in south-east Malawi, in which the company's Songwe Hill rare-earth project is located.
The rare earths miner said the licence has been renewed until January 2019. Mkango's Nkalonje, Mantrap, Knoll and Namangale prospects also are located within the Phalombe licence.
Mkango noted a recent visit to the site by a number of geology and geophysics experts in connection with a EUR5.4 million HiTech AlkCarbh research project, funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme.
Mkango said the research project may lead to a better understanding of the potential for larger but unexposed mineralised bodies of carbonatite on either a prospect or regional scale.
The company said rare earth mineralisation and mineral assemblages for both the fenite and carbonatite will be evaluated in the context of the geophysics covering the areas, to further assess their potential as future drill targets.
"The renewal of the Phalombe licence is a strong validation by the government of Malawi of Mkango's strategy and progress to date at Songwe, where we have invested significant funds to advance the project from an early stage to a pre-feasibility study," Mkango President Alexander Lemon said.
Shares in Mkango were up 6.7% at 4.00 pence on Tuesday morning.
By Hannah Boland; hannahboland@alliancenews.com; @Hannaheboland
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Mkango Res (MKA)