TIDMORM
RNS Number : 9941V
Ormonde Mining PLC
11 November 2010
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11 November 2010
Ormonde Mining plc
("Ormonde" or "the Company")
Progress on Barruecopardo Tungsten Project
The Board of Ormonde is pleased to report ongoing progress on its Barruecopardo
Tungsten Project in Salamanca, Spain, following the Technical and Economic
Review and Optimisation Study ("the Study") carried out by Scott Wilson Mining
("Scott Wilson") and reported in mid-September.
Main Points
Drilling in progress to include upgrading of relevant parts of the Inferred
Resource to Indicated status and facilitate a definitive open pit design.
Environmental studies, a key component of the supporting documentation
required for permitting at Barruecopardo, now well advanced.
Work is underway on the definitive technical-economic evaluation programmes
required to advance the project through to the engineering design stage.
Kerr Anderson, Ormonde's Managing Director, said:
"The resumption of drilling and the progress on both permitting works and the
technical-economic evaluation programmes form important steps in our timetable
to deliver initial production at Barruecopardo by late 2012.
Tungsten prices continue to strengthen due to further supply shortages, with the
European APT price now quoted as US$280-286 per metric tonne unit (mtu), a rise
of almost 30% in the past six months. These are very exciting times for the
Company and we look forward to reporting progress and developments at
Barruecopardo over the coming months."
Following a review of the open pit optimisation completed by Scott Wilson in
September, drilling resumed at Barruecopardo in October with an infill programme
designed to reduce the drill spacing and upgrade relevant parts of the
open-pittable portion of the Inferred Mineral Resources to Indicated status.
Initial holes are being drilled on the southern part of the deposit,
progressively moving north, and results will be reported as appropriate as the
programme proceeds. This drilling programme is scheduled to be completed in
February next year.
The Base Case open pit optimisation study was carried out only on the Indicated
portion of the current resource and encompassed 3.9 million tonnes of resource
with an average life of mine grade of 0.43% WO3. The Scott Wilson report
indicated that, at an open pit production rate of 500kt of ore per year for an
initial mine life of 10 years, this would yield averaged production of 155,000
mtus of WO3 per year in concentrate, resulting in net operating cash flows of
EUR9.3 million to EUR13.7 million per year at tungsten APT prices of $245 and $290
per mtu, respectively.
In addition to drilling, environmental works, a key component of the supporting
documentation required for permitting at Barruecopardo, are now well advanced.
Incorporation of the preliminary results from these studies with details of the
proposed mining operation, as provided by the Scott Wilson Study, will form part
of the initial permitting documents.
The final stage of testwork has been agreed with our metallurgical consultant to
facilitate the design of the "clean-up" circuit configuration for the processing
plant. The detailed processing design work will proceed thereafter and selection
of appropriate engineering firms to carry out this work is in hand.
Selection of an appropriate mining consultancy to finalise the open pit designs
will proceed as soon as the infill drilling has advanced adequately.
Kerr Anderson PhD EurGeolPGeo, Managing Director of Ormonde Mining plc, and a
qualified person as defined in the Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas
Companies, February 2007, of the London Stock Exchange, has reviewed and
approved the technical information contained in this announcement.
A glossary explaining technical terms contained in this announcement can be
found at www.ormondemining.com/en/investors/technical_glossary.
Enquiries to:
Ormonde Mining plc
Kerr Anderson, Managing Director Tel: +353 (0)46 9073623
Bankside Consultants
Simon Rothschild / Louise Mason Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 8888 Mob: +44 (0)7703
167065
Davy (Nomad / ESM Adviser)
Fergal Meegan/Roland French Tel: +353 (0)1 6796363
Fairfax I.S. PLC (Joint Broker)
Ewan Leggat/Katy Birkin Tel: +44 (0)207 598 5368
ENDS
About Ormonde
Ormonde Mining plc is quoted on the AIM in London and the ESM in Dublin. Ormonde
is a mineral development and exploration company focused on Spain, with a
principal objective of developing the Barruecopardo Tungsten Project to be a
major western tungsten mine by late 2012.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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