A Mitre Mining Corporation Limited (Mitre) announcement on July 13 said the company "continue[d] to make significant developments with the exploration program at the Batemans Project with extensive field surveying ... soil samples and rock chip samples yielding encouraging results".

Mitre obtained a five year exploratory license for a 134 kilometres squared area - stretching from west of Batemans Bay to south of Mogo - on April 30, 2021.

In April 2022, Mitre announced significant and positive progress in the identification of rare earth minerals in the area.

In their latest testing, two samples returned irregular gold quantities: one near the King's Highway north of Nelligen and the second in bushland west of Mogo and south of Buckenbowra.

"These initial results are encouraging and support our regional thesis," the announcement said.

READ MORE:

"This will assist with defining targets for a drill program once all results have been returned and analysed."

The announcement said the exploratory teams were collecting data samples quicker than could be processed by the laboratory.

"The field teams will begin work on the highly promising Araluen Project while further gold and rare earth analytical results from the Batemans Project are pending," Mitre CEO Clinton Carey said.

Mitre acquired a 228 kilometres squared tenement near Araluen for a second project in November 2021.

The announcement reported no drilling or associated sampling.

Mr Carey told Australian Community Media in February the community had no reason for concern because the Batemans Project was purely exploratory.

Before any mining could begin, Mitre - or another company - would have to acquire a mining lease from the NSW Government. All new miners must adhere to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and carry out an environmental impact assessment.

"As a mining company, we'd have to operate under the Australian government legislation and we'd have to make sure that all environmental impact studies were done," Mr Carey said in February.

"I am available at all times for people in the area to talk to and I'm happy to meet up with them, when appropriate."