A Northern Tasmanian hunt for deposits linked to the famed Ballarat and Bendigo gold belt is being planned.
Stellar Resources Limited - which has been working for years towards potential tin mining at Zeehan - said it had lodged 10 exploration licence applications covering a large area in the North-East with state authorities.
"Stellar is excited to be in a position where it soon expects to be able to explore for Victorian-style gold exploration targets in relatively under-explored North-East Tasmania within the continuation of the Victorian Western Lachlan Fold Belt," Stellar chairman Simon O'Loughlin said.
It appeared the gold exploration would take priority for now over the Heemskirk Tin Project at Zeehan.
Mr O'Loughlin said Stellar would continue to hold in good standing all its licences and leases over Heemskirk and other satellite tin deposits on the West Coast.
"We note that tin prices have recovered significantly from lows of about $US16,000 per tonne early in 2020 with the onset of coronavirus to currently over $US18,300 ($A25,170) per tonne," he said.
"We remain optimistic that tin prices will continue to strengthen, supporting the advancement of the Heemskirk Tin Project in the future."
Stellar said the Western Lachlan Fold Belt in Victoria hosted the Fosterville Mine and other tier one goldfields including Bendigo, Ballarat, Stawell, Walhalla and Woods Point and had produced more than 80 million ounces of gold.
"Victoria has 13 goldfields that have each produced over one million ounces gold, with Bendigo (22 million ounces) being the largest of these," it said.
Stellar said the Western Lachlan Fold Belt was divided into Stawell, Bendigo and Melbourne structural zones, with the Melbourne Zone extending into North-East Tasmania.
It said the North-East hosted the Beaconsfield and New Golden Gate mines, the Lefroy Goldfield and hundreds of smaller historic gold mines and occurrences.
Mr O'Loughlin said Stellar's established base in Tasmania had enabled it to identify the gold targets.
"Our geological team and network of technical consultants in Tasmania will also be a great asset in implementing the proposed gold exploration program going forward," he said.
Stellar entered a trading halt on Thursday, pending an announcement about capital raising.
