MinMet, the exploration company, will be awarded a licence to mine for gold and silver at the Castromil mine in northern Portugal.

Formal details will arrive "within the next few weeks", according to MinMet.

The licence has been the subject of two public inquiries and "follows a sustained campaign by MinMet during the last two years", the company said.

While the development of Castromil is not large in world terms, "it augurs well for the development of MinMet's other exploration activities in Portugal, in particular the exploration of the Valongo and Gondomar strike zone in which it has already discovered significant evidence of gold enrichment".

"This is an excellent result," said the chairman, Mr Jeremy Metcalfe.

"We have shown that our belief in the project and our ability to persuade the Portuguese authorities has been well founded."

MinMet has also announced the splitting of the roles of chairman and chief executive.

While Mr Metcalfe will maintain his role of executive chairman, Mr Michael Nolan, who has been finance director since 1994, has been appointed chief executive.

The changes are an "endorsement of the policy which the group has been pursuing over the last four years to position the group as a major player in the international exploration market place", said Mr Metcalfe.