First Au (ASX:FAU) secured approval for a 2,500-meter reverse circulation drilling program at the Gimlet project in Western Australia, according to a Friday filing with the Australian bourse.

The program aims to upgrade confidence in the inferred resource, test for northern extension and potential plunge, and optimize open pit and underground mining studies, the filing said.

Drill pad clearing and earthworks are underway, with mobilization of equipment to start later this month, according to the filing.