Riversgold (ASX:RGL) said its program of work for a further 200 drill holes at the Northern Zone intrusive-hosted gold project in Western Australia was approved by the state's Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation, and Safety, according to a Thursday Australian bourse filing.

A high-resolution drone magnetic survey will begin this week at the project, and the data will be used for structural interpretation. Metallurgical testwork is being conducted on oxide mineralization to add confidence in previous test work.

The mining lease application is progressing through the native title advertising period, which ends in late May.

Specialist consulting group Xirlatem is conducting the structural logging of four diamond drill holes to a vertical depth of 500 meters, to prepare for a structural and geological model for a maiden mineral resource estimate.