(Sharecast News) - Greatland Gold announced moves to secure new exploration territories in the Gascoyne on Friday, specifically at Yannarie to the south of the Pilbara.

The AIM-traded company said it had lodged applications for exploration licences covering an area of 126 square kilometres.

It said the decision to explore the area came after it carried out a prospectivity study, which spanned the Pilbara and its surrounding regions.

The study identified the Yannarie ground as having the potential for Havieron and Telfer-style precious and base metals deposits.

Such deposits were highly sought after in the mining industry, with the Havieron and Telfer styles particularly notable.

One of the key highlights from the development, Greatland said, was the geological backdrop of Yannarie.

The district's geological environment and historical context were conducive to forming large-scale precious and base metals deposits.

That optimistic outlook was further supported by the Yannarie applications that sat atop a complexly-folded Proterozoic meta-sedimentary package.

The package had been intruded by Proterozoic granitoids located on the fringes of a terrane boundary.

Moreover, open file data showed that the Yannarie area needed more exploration despite having only a shallow cover.

That implied a considerable potential for untapped mineral wealth in the region.

"Exploration is one of Greatland's three horizons for growth," said managing director Shaun Day.

"The addition of these tenements to our portfolio augments a pipeline of high-priority targets in Tier 1 districts and demonstrates our continued focus to identify and secure prospective ground where we can leverage our team's experience and track record of success.

"Yannarie complements our upgraded portfolio of priority projects, including Paterson and Ernest Giles."

At 1218 BST, shares in Greatland Gold were up 3.2% at 7.12p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.