Canadian gold miner Galantas has secured planning permission to develop an underground operation at its Omagh prospect in Co Tyrone.

The company said the planning consent would permit the continuation and expansion of its gold mining operations on the site and is expected to create hundreds of jobs locally.

Galantas, which is quoted both in Toronto and on the London AIM market, said the decision comes after a three-year examination of environmental and other factors regarding the application.

The company said it would conduct a detailed review of the conditions associated with the planning permission.

"This is a significant milestone and a game changer for Galantas," said chief executive Roland Phelps.

"Our open pit gold mine, operated until recently, is the only one in Ireland. It had excellent environmental standards, monitored with detailed studies by Northern Ireland Environment Agency and used a safe processing methodology to produce a smelter concentrate."

He said the underground mine would use the same processing methods and would be the first underground gold mine “of any scale” in Ireland.