London-listed Savannah Resources PLC secured the third and final mining license for its Mutamba heavy mineral sands joint venture with mining giant Rio Tinto in Mozambique.

Savannah has an option to acquire up to 51% of the project by delivering a feasibility study.

The minister of mineral resources and energy in Mozambique issued mining license 9228C to Mutamba Mineral Sands SA. The license covers 11,807 hectares and will expire in September 2044, with the possibility of a 25-year extension.

The project also comprises the 11,948-hectare 9935C license and the 16,126-hectare 9229C license, both valid until 2044.

Savannah is focused on completing a pre-feasibility study, which will increase its project ownership to 35% from 20%, it said Jan. 14.

A May 2017 scoping study for Mutamba defined a pretax net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$154 million and an internal rate of return of 19%.