Shares in Galantas Gold (TSX, LON:GAL) climbed more than 30% in London on Friday after a court of appeal dismissed a challenge to a Northern Ireland judge's approval of work at the company's Omagh gold project.
Mining is already underway at Omagh, but once it reaches commercial production it's expected to produce 30,000 ounces of gold concentrate per year.The company stated the court ruled that the appeal brought forward by a local resident had failed, confirming the planning consent for an underground operation on the former open pit mine.
Galantas' Omagh is Northern Ireland's only producing gold mine. The firm, which kicked off the mine's expansion last year after the open-pit site was exhausted, has said once it brings it into commercial production it will yield 30,000 ounces of gold concentrate per year.
The miner also confirmed that a proposed private placment of between ?3.2-million and ?4-million, or C$5.1-million and C$6.8-million, would proceed. The funding is required to bring Omagh into commercial production.
Northern Ireland holds the world's seventh richest undeveloped seam of gold, but political violence kept most investors away for about three decades.
Shares in Galantas were trading 28.8% higher to 8.05p by 2:05 pm London time.