The Thakadu openpit was mined by former Mowana owners although needs more drilling to confirm the resource, Cradle Arc said.

Botswana's minerals department extended the Thakadu and adjacent Makala underground mining permits to May 2020, so Cradle Arc will have to be quick to get to work at the deposits.

Thakadu has an indicated resource of 2.3 million tonnes at 1.11% copper and 11g/t silver, and Makala has an inferred resource of 11.5Mt at 1.46% copper and 34g/t of silver.

The company has had a rough few months, reviewing guidance at Mowana and struggling to get the processing plant running consistently.

In the midst of a steep share price drop, from 3.8p (US5c) a month ago to 1.32p this morning, Cradle Arc got a 2% boost from the licence announcement.

CEO Kevin van Wouw said there were several steps before mining, but the licence-extension would make progress possible.

"Thakadu ores were mined and transported to our Mowana copper mine by its previous owners as recently as 2015, so we have significant existing knowledge of the potential quality of the copper sulphide ore which also has significant silver credits," he said.

"Now that we have been formally granted an extension to the mining licence until the end of May 2020, we can, subject to obtaining the requisite finance in due course, start to plan for the additional drilling required in the future to enhance the confidence of the existing resource, a vital step towards completing a feasibility study for a potential underground mining operation using access from the base of the existing openpit."

Cradle Arc will have an intense December quarter as it chases its 2018 guidance, having to triple production at Mowana to 3,000t copper compared to September's 800-900t total.