The licences cover a 266sq.km area about 40km from Retortillo.

Berkeley said previous geochemical analysis using ionic leach methodology had shown the areas to be prospective for lithium, cobalt, tin, tungsten and rare earth elements and the company was accelerating plans to further define and test drill these targets.

"The ionic leach process utilises ultra-high detection levels of mobile metal ions in the soils at surface and is one of the latest techniques developed to analyse metals at depth without drilling. This is the first time this innovative technology has been utilised in Spain," the company said.

Berkeley also welcomed the result of the recent municipal election in Retortillo, with four of the five council seats won by candidates supportive of the Salamanca project, which is due to create a substantial number of local jobs and support local businesses, gleaning support from the community.

The company said it continued to await the recommendation report from the Nuclear Safety Council and had appealed, along with others, against recent appointments to the board of the council.

Managing director and CEO Paul Atherley said Berkeley looked forward to working with the new council in achieving the outcome the community wanted.

"The company's success to date has been built on the foundations of innovative exploration techniques to discover and delineate metals vital for society," he said.

"The demand for clean technology metals to support the global battery and EV industries is taking off. The urgent need to explore for these critical metals to provide reliable supply within the EU comes at a time when some commentators are suggesting that governments are threatening to restrict supply of these important components of the green energy revolution."

Berekeley's shares (ASX:BKY) rose 3.45% Tuesday to A30c (US20.9c).