Northern Minerals (ASX:NTU) has been granted a new mining lease, M80/650, over its Browns Range project in Western Australia, according to a Wednesday Australian bourse filing.

The newly granted M80/650 replaces the previous mining lease M80/627, which was voluntarily surrendered upon the grant of M80/650, the filing added.

The company said that the new mining lease more than doubles the area covered under a mining lease at Browns Range from 4,923 to 10,458 hectares by converting existing NTU exploration tenure into the granted M80/650.

The expanded area includes priority targets for near-term exploration, and the lease has an initial term of 21 years until Sept 8, 2046, plus an additional term of 21 years.

The company's shares rose almost 6% in recent Wednesday trade.