It said Monday it had received formal letters of no objection from the ministries for the mining licence applications for the Mahab 4 and Maqail South deposits, part of Al Fauriz Mining's Block 5.

The company is now clear to complete the licensing process through discussions with the Public Authority of Mining.

The company said in March, when it was waiting for the final ministerial approval, that it expected to begin mining this year.

Savannah CEO David Archer said the company was looking forward to being the first new copper mine development in Oman for a number of years, particularly in light of the favourable copper price environment and strong interest from potential off-takers for high-quality copper concentrate.

"Alongside our licensing progress, we have been participating in the government sponsored Tanfeedh Labs sessions, which have provided an excellent opportunity to bring together all stakeholders related to the mining industry … and provided an industry sounding board for the proposed new mining law in Oman, which is moving towards adoption and is focussed on making Oman's mining environment more attractive to investors and supporting the development of the industry in-country," he said.

Archer said this made it the opportune time to bring two new mines on-stream in the country.

The Mahab 4 and Maqail South developments will be the first of a planned series in Oman.

Block 5 has a current indicated and inferred resource of 1.7 million tonnes at 2.2% Cu, including a high-grade zone of 500,000t at 4.5% Cu, which was defined at the Mahab 4 target. Maqail South currently hosts 160,000t at 3.8% Cu.

SP Angel said the progress on the licensing was positive, although noted that there did not yet seem to be an expected timetable for the issue of the mining licences.

"In the meantime, we look forward to the scoping study for Mina do Barroso," the broker said.

Savannah increased the lithium mineral resource of the Mina do Barroso project in northern Portugal by 52% earlier in May.