Spain is set to block the required permits for Berkeley Energia Ltd.'s Salamanca open cast uranium mine in the country, Reuters reported Oct. 16, citing sources.

Berkeley secured preliminary approval for Salamanca in 2013 but has faced local opposition since then.

The company said earlier it was confident it would get the last two major permits necessary to start up the mine, although it would also scale down its existing local corporate operations.

"The government will wait for the ongoing proceedings to go through but it will say no," an anonymous government source said.

Meanwhile, another source involved in the proceedings said the company was "living in a parallel universe".

"The authorisation to build the mine is only possible when the nuclear authority has handed over its report, which is still a long way," the source added.

Berkeley in December 2017 began hiring contractors and staff to kick off operations at the site.

The company estimated earlier that the mine would operate for 14 years, creating investment of over €250 million, and more than 2,500 direct and indirect jobs.

Berkeley has a triple listing in the U.K., Spain and Australia.