Business
Tungsten Project Option
Tungsten Project Option.
About this update from Ormonde Mining Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Ormonde Mining PLC\n28 February 2006\n\n28 February 2006\n\n\n\n Ormonde Mining plc\n\n\n\n Option to Acquire Tungsten Project in Salamanca\n\n\n\nDUBLIN & LONDON: 28 February 2006 - Ormonde Mining plc (\"Ormonde\" or \"the\nCompany\") announces that it has entered into an option agreement to acquire the\nBarruecopardo Tungsten Tailings Project (\"the Project\"), located in the permit\narea of the Company's Salamanca Gold Project in Western Spain.\n\n\n\nDuring Ormonde's option period, which runs until September 2006, it will fully\nassess the grade, volume, and rate of recovery of the tungsten contained in the\ndumps and tailings (\"tailings\") material produced from the Barruecopardo\ntungsten mine. Recent sampling by Ormonde of the vein material originally mined\nto produce the tungsten has also confirmed the presence of gold with the\ntungsten and this gold potential will also be evaluated. Upon exercising its\noption, Ormonde would have 100 per cent of the mineral rights pertaining to\ntungsten and gold for which it will pay an annual royalty and lease fee.\n\n\n\nThe Company envisages a simple, low-cost operation initially processing around\n400,000 tonnes of material per annum through a small gravity separation plant,\nto produce high-quality tungsten concentrates for direct sale. There would be\nno mining cost and a low milling cost as the material is already partially\ncrushed. Production capacity could be increased following the start-up of an\noperation.\n\n\n\nThe Barruecopardo Mine, which closed in the early 1980s, was one of Europe's\nlargest tungsten operations producing some of the highest quality tungsten\nproducts in the market. Mining records suggest, however, that the rate of\ntungsten recovery was only about 40 per cent, indicating that a majority of the\ntungsten was discarded in the tailings. Ormonde estimates that there is between\n5-10 million tonnes of tailings at grades of 0.08 to 0.10 per cent WO3, which\npotentially represents a significant resource.\n\n\n\n\n\nOrmonde's Chairman Mike Donoghue said today,\n\n\n\n\"The Tungsten Tailings Project has potential to become a near-term\nprofit-generating operation and gives Ormonde exposure to upside in the tungsten\nprice, being at its highest for over 20 years. We feel that the Project,\nconsidering the low capital spend required, has distinct pote...