EMED Mining (AIM: EMED) said the permit application process in relation to restarting the Proyecto Rio Tinto ('Rio Tinto') copper mine in Spain’s Iberian Pyrite Belt in Andalucia is progressing well, and now the company turns to environmental aspects.

Managing director Harry Anagnostaras-Adams said: “Once the permitting process is formally completed, we will establish the production management teams and workforce recruitment procedures and seek shareholder and financier approvals.”

The mine hosts a JORC-standard resource of 940,000 tonnes of contained copper (205 million tonnes at 0.46% copper) and a mineable reserve of 585,000 tonnes of contained copper (123 million tonnes at 0.48% copper). Processing facilities – on care and maintenance since the mine was closed in 2000 due to low prevailing copper prices – include a processing plant, tailings facility and waste dumps.

Emed Mining

The principal activity of EMED Mining is to explore for and develop natural resources, with a focus on copper and gold. The Company's region of interest spans from Europe to Middle East which includes many past centres of mining and under-explored potential for many styles of mineralisation such as volcanogenic-hosted massive sulphide copper-gold, epithermal gold and porphyry copper-gold.

EMED Mining has already established a leading position within selected pro-development countries. Key projects include Gold in Slovakia, Georgia and Turkey and Copper at Rio Tinto in Spain and Klirou in Cyprus. These projects have been selected for their under-explored potential, for the opportunity to quickly add value and because of EMED Mining’s confidence that it can establish appropriate local relationships.