Nyota Minerals shares jump 275% on permit investment

The share price of AIM-listed Nyota Minerals almost quadrupled on Tuesday afternoon as the Ethiopia-focused gold miner invested in an exploration permit for nickel, base and precious metals in Italy.Nyota's stock surged 275% to 0.15p as it pleased investors with the announcement that it plans to acquire 70% of KEC Exploration.KEC owns a permit covering 31.3 square kilometres (sq km) in the Piemonte region of Italy and has applications pending for three further permits covering 85.5 sq km in the same area.The previously-producing, yet underexplored project area "represents a strong opportunity in line with Nyota's strategy to pursue new prospective mineral opportunities", the company said.Nyota is spending $158,534 Aussie dollars on the investment, which equates to A$100,000 in cash and the issue of 75m shares."This acquisition represents an exciting opportunity in a prospective mineral jurisdiction and having considered a number of new opportunities, we are confident that the Ivrea Project meets our requirements due to the excellent geological profile of the region and the strong upside potential," said chief executive Richard Chase.Despite Tuesday's sharp jump in the stock, the shares were still worth less than half of their value at this same time last year.