The company had the option to acquiring the remaining stake in the prospecting licences, which it has now exercised, while terminating the existing joint venture agreement.

Walkabout executive chairman Trevor Benson said the acquisition would add value to the company and showed management was confident in the project and progression in Tanzania.

The company is still waiting for Lindi Jumbo's mining licence to come through, saying it has been encouraged by recent communication from Tanzania's minister of minerals.

It met with the ministry on May 25, where it was confirmed that licence applications would be issued in large batches until the ministry had depleted its current backlog.

Benson told Mining Journal in February that he was optimistic the licence would be approved soon, as president John Magufuli had gotten involved on speeding up the application progress.

He added that Tanzania's new mining code would not impact the company too much, as Lindi Jumbo was classified as an industrial mineral project, meaning it would not be hit by the new royalties scheme.

Walkabout was also easily able to comply with most of Tanzania's new legislative changes, as it already had an indigenous company, a local bank account and employed local people.