Balkan Mining and Minerals (ASX:BMM) submitted a plan of operations to the US Bureau of Land Management for its Desert Star projects in California, according to a Monday Australian bourse filing.

The bureau's approvals are expected in either October or November, and site preparation and drilling is expected to begin after that. The first drill program is designed to test four high-priority rare earth elements targets, identified through structural intersections and geophysical anomalies.

Ground-based radiometric, magnetic, and gravity surveys are underway across the project areas, and completion is expected in the coming week. The firm is also conducting a downstream evaluation to secure a US supply chain.