10 April 2013
Ormonde Mining plc
("Ormonde" or "the Company")
Barruecopardo Permitting Update
The Board of Ormonde is pleased to provide an update on progress in connection with permitting of its flagship Barruecopardo Tungsten Project in Salamanca, Spain ("Barruecopardo" or the "Project"). This follows the submission of the final permitting documentation to the Provincial and Regional Governments at the end of July 2012 by Saloro SLU ("Saloro"), Ormonde's wholly-owned subsidiary which is developing Barruecopardo. The permitting process includes review and confirmation by the regional Mines Department in Salamanca that the documentation conforms to requirements, a public consultation and response period, followed by further review at provincial level, leading to a recommendation being made to the regional government for a decision regarding permitting consents. As detailed below, significant progress has now been made in relation to this process.
Main Points
· Considerable permitting documentation, comprising the Environmental Impact Study, the Exploitation Plan, the Restoration Plan and the Financial Plan have been under review by the Regional Authorities in Salamanca during Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 and the regional Mines Department in Salamanca has now advised that the documentation submitted conforms to their requirements.
· A public consultation period was completed in February 2013, with only a single public submission received by Saloro, to which the Company has responded in full. The fact that just one public submission was received at this critically important stage of the permitting process is viewed as highly significant by the Company.
· Numerous public and private presentations to various community groups and public bodies have been undertaken by Saloro at local, provincial and regional level to inform on the proposed new mining operation at Barruecopardo. These have been very well received and have helped to establish very strong community and political support for both the Barruecopardo project and Saloro.
Kerr Anderson, Ormonde's Managing Director, commented:
"We are extremely pleased that our extensive efforts and activities on communicating our proposals for the Barruecopardo Tungsten Project at local, provincial and regional level have been very well received, and we believe this is reflected in the fact that only a single submission was presented by outside parties following the public consultation period which forms a critical part of the permitting process. This endorses all the work that went into the preparation of the documentation required for the granting of the mining concession at Barruecopardo, and is evidenced by the fact that the regional Mines Department in Salamanca has now advised that the documentation submitted conforms to their requirements. We look forward to releasing an update on the Project in due course."
Kerr Anderson PhD EurGeolPGeo, Managing Director of Ormonde, and a qualified person as defined in the Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies, June 2009, 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.
For more information please visit www.ormondemining.com or follow Ormonde on Twitter https://twitter.com/ormondemining or Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/company/ormonde-mining-plc
Enquiries to:
Ormonde Mining plc
Kerr Anderson, Managing Director Tel: +353 (0)1 8253570
Bankside Consultants
Simon Rothschild Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 8888 Mob: +44 (0)7703 167065
Murray Consultants
Ed Micheau Tel: +353 (0)1 4980300 Mob: +353 (0)86 803 7155
Davy (Nomad / ESM Adviser)
Eugenée Mulhern / Roland French Tel: +353 (0)1 6796363
ENDS
About Ormonde
Ormonde Mining Plc is admitted to trading on the AIM market in London and the ESM market in Dublin. Ormonde is a mineral development and exploration company focused on Spain (Ticker: ORM).
Ormonde's key activities include:
Barruecopardo Tungsten- Ormonde is developing a low cost mining operation at Barruecopardo to become a major, secure European supply of tungsten.
Gold Exploration in several highly prospective areas of western Spain which includes its joint venture agreement with Aurum Mining plc (AIM: AUR), where Ormonde currently has a 40% interest in the Pino de Oro project in the Zamora Province and a 46% interest in the Peralonso and Cabeza projects in Salamanca Province of western Spain. Ormonde is Manager of the Joint Venture.
La Zarza Copper - polymetallic massive sulphide deposit in the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt of southern Spain.