Berkeley Energia steams ahead at Salamanca

Looking to develop world-class uranium project in Spain Salamanca Project has near surface, high-grade deposits Land-use permit granted for Retortillo project   What Berkeley Energia does Berkeley Energia Limited (LON:BKY) (ASX:BKY) is developing a world-class uranium project in a historic mining area in western Spain, about three hours west of Madrid. Following recent Spanish ministerial approval, the company has now received all the European Union and national level approvals required for the initial development of the Salamanca project and is awaiting local licences. The large scale uranium area has the potential to support a long-life mining operation, with near-surface, high-grade deposits for very low operating costs. The group has said the project will generate measurable social and environmental benefits in the form of jobs and skills training in a depressed rural community. It believes the project will also make a significant contribution to the security of supply of Europe’s zero-carbon energy needs.   How it's doing In August, Berkeley said it has been granted a land-use permit for its Retortillo project by the relevant municipal authorities in Castilla y León, Spain. The permit, known as an Urbanism Licence, is needed for construction works at the Salamanca mine. The Authorisation for Construction for the uranium concentrate plant as a radioactive facility is now the only pending approval required to commence full construction of the Salamanca mine. In late March 2020, the company also formally submitted updated official documentation in relation to this last permit and has since held a number of meetings via teleconference calls with the Nuclear Safety Council (NSC) technical team to discuss and clarify minor queries on the updated documentation. As requested by the NSC, the company is currently preparing written responses to these queries and will complete this task in the coming weeks. Approval for the mine also looks set to come at an opportune time, with Berkeley highlighting analysis in July that suggested uranium market conditions could tighten, heightening concerns about future supply and potentially pushing up the price of the element and possibly triggering “increased term market activity”. Battery metals Berkeley also intends to move into battery and EV metals on its deposit. The first phase of a 13-hole programme will see six holes drilled, with the company targeting lithium, cobalt, tin, tungsten and rare earths - several of which have previously been mined in commercial quantities in the area. Four holes from the programme have so far been drilled. They were drilled in areas previously mined for tin and lithium. Assay results revealed multiple narrow zones of tin and lithium mineralisation.