Shefa Gems Ltd (LON:SEFA) has renewed the prospecting licence at its Kishon Mid-Reach Zone 1 project in Northern Israel for another 12 months.
The licence has been granted for diamonds, gold and precious stones, and covers an area of around 25 hectares.
READ: Shefa completes bulk sampling at Kishon Mid-Reach Zone 2
The renewal paves the way for Shefa to begin trial mining at the project next year as it will be able to apply for a ‘Certificate of Discovery’, giving the company exclusive rights over a mining licence.
“We are pleased to renew our prospecting licence which is another step forward as we continue to progress through the planning and regulatory procedures to advance the Kishon Mid-Reach Zone 1 with a view to begin trial mining in 2020,” said chief executive Avi taub.
In total, Shefa has three prospecting permits and one exploration permit in Northern Israel which cover an area of approximately 60,000 hectares that includes the Kishon River, the volcanic bodies on Mount Carmel, and the Zevulun and Yizre'el valleys.
Shefa shares were up 12.4% to 5.9p on Thursday morning.