Option Agreement

Ormonde Mining PLC 01 November 2004 ORMONDE MINING PLC New High-Grade Gold Project: Ormonde Options Permits Over Advanced Exploration Targets in Western Spain DUBLIN & LONDON: 1 November 2004 - Ormonde Mining plc is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a private Spanish company, Prehenita S.L. ("Prehenita"), over several permits that include high-grade gold targets in the Castilla y Leon region of Spain. HIGHLIGHTS • High gold grades at shallow depths in historical drilling, including 1.0 metre grading 65.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 2.0 metres grading 11.2 g/t gold and 6.0 metres grading 5.9 g/t gold • Advanced exploration targets at drilling stage • Several highly prospective regional targets to be explored. Managing Director Kerr Anderson commented, "The addition of these advanced gold targets to Ormonde's existing four active projects further consolidates our position and long-term strategy in Spain. The impressive grades reported from historical drilling demonstrate the excellent and immediate potential of the targets, and similarities to the gold mineralization at our Tracia Project mean that we have a head-start in developing our exploration strategy". Under the terms of the agreement, Ormonde will issue 500,000 Ormonde shares to Prehenita to earn an initial 20 per cent interest in the permits, which have a total area of 500 square kilometres, and can earn up to a 90 per cent interest in the permits by staged funding of exploration activities over a four year period. GOLD MINERALIZATION AND HISTORICAL DRILLING The permits are located within a district noted for its gold occurrences in the southern part of the Castilla y Leon region of Spain. Historical drilling on one of the permit areas, carried out in the 1980s by a regional Spanish Geological Survey, targeted strong soil geochemistry over northeast-southwest trending structural features up to 1.5 kilometres long. Of the 16 or so mapped structures, drilling was carried out on only two of them and both returned high gold grades. Drilling on one structure intersected a system of steeply dipping veins, with high-grade gold intervals including 1.0 metre grading 65.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 74 metres, and 2.0 metres grading 11.2 g/t gold from 132 metres. Gold grades in several other metric intervals range from 4.0 to 14.8 g/t. The second structure returned good grades over more extensive widths, with an interval of 10.7 metres grading 3.8 g/t gold from 54 metres (including 6.0 metres grading 5.9 g/t gold). As the area was part of a State mineral reserve until recently, no exploration company carried out any subsequent work. The Hercynian-aged gold mineralization occurs in quartz veins (sometimes chalcedonic) and breccias, with sulphides associated in places, in a similar geological situation to that at Ormonde's Tracia Project. In some holes, promising altered, veined and brecciated intervals appear not to have been sampled, meaning that the historical data may actually underplay the true potential of the area. The shallow depths of thicker zones of gold mineralization intersected by drilling present the possibility of an open-pittable deposit should further drilling confirm continuity of these zones. PLANNED PROGRAMMES Initial activities will involve field verification and sampling of all the principal structures, in addition to soil geochemistry where required (soil geochemistry successfully identified the known mineralized zones). Drilling will subsequently be carried out, initially designed to test the continuity of existing drill intersections. Enquiries to: Ormonde Mining plc Kerr Anderson, Managing Director +353 (0)46 9073623 Fraser Gardiner, Investor and Media Relations +353 (0)86 3931178 info@ormondemining.com John Carroll, Director +353 (0)1 4922936 Bankside Consultants Simon Rothschild +44 (0)207 444 4153 / +44 (0)7703 167065 Keith Irons +44 (0)207 444 4155 / +44 (0)7885 356639 NOTE Ormonde Mining is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and also trades on London's SEAQ platform. The Company is focused on acquiring and developing high-grade gold projects in Spain. Ormonde's portfolio contains advanced projects with substantial gold (and copper) resources, including La Zarza with one million ounces of gold, and other properties where the Company anticipates that drilling will identify significant new resources. The Company has a strong local Spanish management, supported by a Board with extensive exploration and mine development experience. For more information, please visit www.ormondemining.com. 1 November, 2004 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange