Poplar Resources of Vancouver, Canada, hopes to strike it rich in the Carrickmore, Cookstown, Pomeroy and Omagh areas of Co Tyrone.

Northern Ireland's Department of Economic Development has confirmed that it proposes to grant a prospecting licence to the firm under the Mineral Development Act. Poplar Resources, a junior mining company listed on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, has its principal holdings in diamond projects in Sweden, Finland and South Africa.