ASX mining shares such as Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd (ASX: SAR) and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) are heading higher today while the ASX 200 falls.
Gold prices have risen more than 1% in the last five days, helped by a 0.9% rise overnight.
With this increase, Newcrest has started to claw back some of the losses sustained in the last few days of trading.
While these companies have risen due to the increase in gold prices, the highest gains today have come from another mining group, New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC).
New Hope released an announcement after the close of trade yesterday stating that the Queensland Department of Environment and Science has granted an application to amend the Environmental Authority for the New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3 Project.
This is an important step forward for the controversial project, but it hasn’t got the full go-ahead just yet.
New Hope said, “This is welcome news for the Company and the local community in which the Project is located. The Project now needs to secure Mining Leases and an Associated Water License from the Queensland government before it can proceed.”
There is a lot resting on this project going ahead, with New Hope saying the project is “critical to ensuring the continuity of operations and therefore employment for approximately 300 employees and 500 contractors currently engaged at the New Acland mine.”
If the Stage 3 project does go ahead, it is expected to generate $7 billion in economic activity over the expected 14-year life of the project.
This would likely provide a significant boost to the company’s share price as well.
The New Hope share price has risen more than 20% since the start of December 2018.
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Disclaimer: At the time of writing, Max does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
