By: AGBI

The Omani government has awarded a mining license for copper exploration to Australia’s Alara Resources.

The ministry of energy and minerals granted the license for the Daris 3A5 prospect, part of the Daris copper-gold project, Alara said in a statement.

Alara, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, holds a 50 percent interest in the Daris copper-gold project, which is located 150km west of Muscat and covers an expansive area of 587 sq km under a mineral exploration license. The company has the right to increase its stake to 70 percent.

The new mining licence was awarded for a portion of Block 7 with an area of 0.65 sq km. Block 7 is operated by Daris Resources, a joint venture company in which Alara holds management and commercial rights.  

The company will now conduct geophysical surveys to plan drill hole locations and carry out diamond core drilling to define mineralisation boundaries.

No financial details were given.

In 2013, the company submitted mining license applications for two highly prospective copper-gold zones in Block 7 – Daris East and Daris 3A5 – following extensive exploration between 2010 and 2012.

In January, state-owned Minerals Development Oman (MDO) resumed exporting copper from the Lasail mine in Sohar with its first shipment in nearly 30 years. 

The government established Oman Minerals Trading Company, a subsidiary of MDO, in May to regulate mineral exports and to unify price negotiations and standardise contracts with global buyers.