TIDMORM
RNS Number : 9168Z
Ormonde Mining PLC
23 May 2019
23 May 2019
This announcement contains inside information
Ormonde Mining plc
("Ormonde" or "the Company")
Barruecopardo Update
The Board of Ormonde ("the Board") provides an update on the
Barruecopardo Tungsten Project in Salamanca, Spain ("Barruecopardo"
or "the Project"), where the Company holds a 30% interest.
-- Process plant commissioning is effectively complete with the
plant operating well. Throughput rates up to 190 tonnes per hour
("tph") are now being achieved on fresh ore, sufficient to meet the
Project's steady state processing target of 1.1 million tonnes per
annum ("Mtpa");
-- Processing of low-grade ore feed from the northern starter
pit has produced concentrates exceeding 74% WO(3) (compared to the
industry standard of 65% WO(3) ) and close to targeted
specification; operational refinements are now focused on achieving
targeted specification in the near term;
-- The initial ore feed from the northern starter pit, a small
pit representing only the first few months of mine production, has
returned lower grade than forecast due to localised complexity
within this peripheral remnant zone;
-- Plans are therefore being developed to target mining of
higher grade ore sources in the near term, including:
o bringing forward mining in the higher grade southern starter
pit, where mining has recently commenced; and
o accelerating the waste stripping of the east wall of the
historic pit, from surface to around 80 metres depth ("the east
wall cutback"), to bring forward access to the main orebody
situated below the historic open pit.
Michael Donoghue, Ormonde's Chairman and Interim Managing
Director, commented:
"The commissioning of the new process plant at Barruecopardo has
essentially been completed, with the plant throughput achieving
rates sufficient to meet the Project's steady state processing
target of 1.1 million tonnes per annum. The concentrates produced
during commissioning are close to targeted specification, so with
feed grade being the critical issue the focus on the Project has
now turned to developing mining procedures and revised mining
schedules to target higher grade, more representative ore sources
earlier in the Year-1 ramp-up schedule. This includes accelerating
waste stripping to allow access to the main orebody to be brought
forward."
Details:
Mining
Open pit mining currently planned for the Year-1 ramp-up period
includes:
-- initial ore production from two starter pits situated on the
northern and southern fringes of the main ore-zone, respectively,
based on more irregular, remnant mineralised zones peripheral to
the main orebody and not mined by the previous operation; and
-- mining out waste above the east side of the historic pit, to
allow access to the main orebody located at an average depth of
around 80 metres.
Open pit mining commenced at the northern starter pit, a small
pit representing only the first few months of production, situated
in an area where the Project's mineral resource model showed the
tungsten mineralised zones to spread out from the main orebody in
widely spaced and less continuous zones. This localised complexity
has resulted in lower mined grades than forecast in the initial ore
feed from this pit.
As the main orebody is a broad and more continuous high-grade
zone situated below the historic open pit, the mineralisation in
the northern starter pit is not representative of the deposit, but
is present at surface, making it the most readily available ore for
initial mining operations while dewatering and waste stripping of
the open pit are carried out.
The following plans are currently being developed to target
higher grade ore sources in the near term:
1) bringing forward mining in the southern starter pit, where
recent drilling has shown higher grades and mining in this area has
recently commenced;
2) accelerating the east wall cutback so that mining of the main
orebody can be brought forward in the Year-1 ramp-up schedule;
and
3) optimising drill-and-blast and grade control procedures to
minimise dilution and optimise feed grades from the starter
pits.
Once these plans are finalised, the effect of their
implementation on Year 1 cashflows projections will be incorporated
into an updated schedule.
Process plant
Commissioning of the process plant is effectively complete.
Plant throughput rates of up to 190 tph are being achieved,
sufficient to meet the post ramp-up production target of 1.1 Mtpa.
Plant performance has been steadily improving as experience is
gained and the operation moves from manual to automated
control.
A high concentrate grade of +74% WO(3) (tungsten trioxide) has
been achieved using low-grade ore feed, compared to the industry
standard of 65% WO(3) . Barruecopardo historically produced a
high-grade concentrate, however it is notable that this is
currently being achieved from a low-grade ore source in the
northern starter pit. As a result of the low feed grade, however,
the initial concentrates are reporting slightly outside targeted
product specification. It is anticipated that this issue will be
resolved in the near term by feeding the plant with material at
more representative grades following the mining revisions described
above.
The Project is now transitioning into the one-year ramp-up phase
of production, during which time access to the southern starter pit
and the main orebody will allow processing performance to be
further optimised.
Operation of the process plant has been handed over from
Fairport Engineering to Saloro, with Saloro already having control
of all other minesite facilities.
Enquiries:
Ormonde Mining plc
Paul Carroll, Chief Financial Officer
Fraser Gardiner, Chief Operating Officer
Tel: +353 (0)1 8014184
Davy (Nomad, Euronext Growth Advisor and Joint Broker)
John Frain / Barry Murphy
Tel: +353 (0)1 6796363
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Joint Broker)
Ewan Leggat
Tel: +44 (0)20 3 470 0470
Capital M Consultants
Simon Rothschild
Mob: +44 (0)77 03167065
Murray Consultants
Mark Brennock
Tel: +353 (0)1 4980300
Mob: +353(0)872335923
Notes:
This announcement includes certain statements that may be deemed
"forward-looking statements". Although the Company believes the
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions,
such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of
future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Risk factors are typical of a mining project during development,
commissioning and operation, and include (but are not limited to):
the availability and / or delivery of equipment and contractor
services to complete mine construction on schedule and on budget;
plant performance during and after commissioning; rates of metal
recovery in the process plant; mined ore tonnages and grade in
comparison to estimated ore reserves; cost overruns and the
potential for future additional funding requirements; and tungsten
concentrate sales prices.
Barruecopardo is a fully permitted and funded mining project
currently being developed through a US$99.7 million funding package
agreed with Oaktree Capital Management (70% interest). Ormonde's
participation in the Project is held through its 30 per cent
minority interest in Barruecopardo Joint Venture BV, a company
which is governed by a Shareholder Agreement which provides for
certain rights and obligations for each party.
For more information, visit www.ormondemining.com
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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