Tempe-based Green Planet Group Inc. (GPC) announced its acquisition of rights to 160-acre gold mining property in California.

GPC acquired the rights to the claim from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. No sale price was disclosed, but company officials estimate the potential mining value of the parcel at $173 million.

GPC CEO Ed Lonergan said the company is still evaluating the site's soils to get a better idea of the best way to proceed with mining operations.

"Every location has its own unique soil composition," Lonergan said. "Therefore, we anticipate the testing of at least 15 formulations of our proprietary soil amendments to determine which will work best at this location. The potential for revenue generation from this technology is tremendous. There are hundreds of abandoned and currently operating mining operations throughout the West that require healthy, natural soil reclamation and we believe that our technology can accomplish this. We are excited about this opportunity to exploit the synergies that exist among our green technologies to generate revenue and profits and to remediate damage to soil from mining operations thus improving the environment."

The company expects to begin mining operations in June.