The company plans to carry out geophysics at the tenements to extend the northernmost permit area, and then a maiden drilling programme to prove mineralisation within the known structure. This work will depend on financing.

It completed £2.4 million (US$3.1 million) capital raising in early August.

Cradle Arc said the prospects were along the same Bushman Lineament hosting Mowana's current JORC-compliant resource estimate, with previous regional geophysics results showing the shear zone extending through both tenements.

The company said the licences, which are valid for a two-year period, increased the potential combined strike length from 5km to 36km within the Mowana mining licence area.

The miner took over Mowana last year, but hit some hurdles in its plan to ramp up production to 12,000 tonnes per annum.

The project has an existing measured and indicated resource of 55 million tonnes at 1.17% copper for 640,000 tonnes of contained copper and an inferred resource of 20Mt at 1.08% Cu for 220,000t of contained copper.

Cradle Arc CEO Kevin van Wouw said the board believed the likelihood of the structure continuing to be mineralised in the renewed permits was very high.

"When this significant strike length is enhanced by evidence from our planned deep drilling in due course, there is clearly significant potential for future underground workings and a substantial mine life for Mowana," he said.

Cradle Arc's shares were up 3.95% Friday to 3.95p (US5.2c).