** Shares of Australia's Ballard Mining BM1.AX rise as much as 9.6% to a record high of A$0.685
** Gold explorer receives environmental works approval for the construction of up to a 2.0 mtpa processing plant and tailings storage facility at its Mt Ida Gold Project, Western Australia
** Says mining proposal and mine closure plan approved for processing plant, tailings storage facility and both open pit and underground mining at Baldock deposit in Western Australia
** About 1.4 mln shares change hands, 2 times the 30-day avg
(Reporting by Anjali Singh in Bengaluru)
((anjali.singh2@thomsonreuters.com;))