The Kuniko Ltd (ASX: KNI) share price is on the rise on Monday after the company announced an expansion of exploration licenses in Norway.
At the time of writing, the Kuniko share price is up 9.28% to $2.12.
Kuniko share price jumps on exploration license expansion
Kuniko has received an additional 59 prospective exploration licenses covering a combined area of approximately 523 km2.
The exploration licenses pave the way for exploration and evaluation activities around the Ringerike area and Nord-Helgeland pegmatite field, both situated in Northern Norway.
The Ringerike Project is located 15 km northeast of the company's existing Skuterud cobalt-copper project. Its believed to be prospective for nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group elements.
Kuniko said it will compile all historical data from the project to expand its geological understanding and development an exploration plan for 2022.
The Nord-Helgeland Project covers a substantial portion of underexplored areas of the Nord-Helgeland pegmatite field. Kuniko intends to undertake further assessments to determine which resources are prospective in the area.
The company has already completed an initial site visit and obtained 13 rock grab samples.
Management commentary
Kuniko CEO Antony Beckmand hailed the strategic expansion, commenting:
This is an excellent opportunity for Kuniko, adding a meaningful and significant expansion of exploration potential in already prospective areas for mineralisation that so far, remain largely underexplored.
This strategic expansion of our already exciting portfolio of battery metals projects enables us to consolidate our presence in the region and our footprint in Norway, while broadening the prospects of projects we can grow and develop over time, ensuring we don't miss potential value creating opportunities.
We will include the newly acquired exploration areas into our overall workstreams for further field work next year, though the immediate focus remains on finalizing analysis from our recent geochemical and airborne geophysics programs to guide the evaluation of our project portfolio and prioritisation of our next phase of exploration activities
Kuniko share price snapshot
The Kuniko share price has cooled down from all-time highs of $3.60 but is still up 150% since its ASX debut on 24 August.
Given its current price of around $2, it remains a 10-bagger for investors that managed to participate in its initial public offering, which successfully raised ~$7.8 million at an offer price of just 20 cents per share.
