Dual-listed trans-Tasman gold explorer Heritage Gold is seeking a mining permit on its Talisman and Dominion Knoll exploration prospects at Karangahake, near Waihi.

The sites are about 12km west of the township of Waihi and Newmont's Martha open pit, in a rich gold district that includes the historic Talisman Mine.

The 133-year-old mine has produced more than 28 tonnes of gold and 85 tonnes of silver. It was initially targeted for further exploration in 2004, when Heritage raised $1.22 million from Australian investors to develop it, claiming that it could contain up to 5.8 tonnes of gold and 22.6 tonnes of silver.

"Our scoping study identified the mining potential...and provided a blueprint for developing the Talisman Mine to a commercial operation, so the application for a mining permit is timely" Heritage chief executive Trent Lash said.

The company had evaluated various mining and treatment options, prepared a development plan starting from small scale mining and building to a significant operation over five years, and completed an economic analysis.

"The project economics look very favourable but are subject to the usual financial qualifications and are obviously impacted by the price of gold," he said.

The mining permit application was lodged with the Ministry of Economic Development's crown minerals department today and could take up to six months to process.

Heritage owns 33 percent of Broken Hill Cobalt Ltd, a company that is looking to develop a cobalt project at Thackaringa, New South Wales.

The company also holds exploration licences for uranium in Australia's Northern Territory, historically a major uranium producing area and currently the focus of extensive exploration.

Immediately to the north of the Talisman Mine and on the same strike line as the gold bearing veins at Talisman, Heritage is exploring the Rahu "tenement" which it believes has equal or greater potential than Talisman.

The company expects to find gold-bearing quartz veins at vertical depths of between 100m-150m at Rahu, the depth of the Martha pit.