Declaration of Urgent Occupation - Approved

RNS Number : 4131C

Ormonde Mining PLC

28 June 2016

 

28 June 2016

Ormonde Mining plc

("Ormonde" or "the Company")

Declaration of Urgent Occupation - Approved

The Board of Ormonde is pleased to provide the following update on the Barruecopardo Project in Salamanca, Spain ("Barruecopardo" or the "Project"). This update follows the recent announcement regarding the land acquisition process and optimised construction schedule which the Project operating company, Saloro SLU ("Saloro"), is advancing.

HIGHLIGHTS

·     A Declaration of Urgent Occupation ("Declaration") relating to the land blocks for which Saloro has requested compulsory purchase, has been approved by the Regional Government of Castilla y Leon ("Regional Government"). This legal declaration represents the completion of the main legal pre-requisite required to allow for immediate access to, and use of, the lands without having to await the completion of the compulsory purchase process.

·     The Declaration had been requested by Saloro as part of its application for compulsory purchase of certain land blocks, submitted in March 2015.

·     The Declaration has been approved and awarded well ahead of the date required by the optimised construction schedule - reducing any related residual risk associated with achieving the updated schedule.

·     Some procedural and legal steps remain prior to actual access to these land blocks, with the current guidance on commissioning for the Project in late 2017 remaining valid, though now substantially de-risked with respect to timing.

Steve Nicol, Ormonde's Managing Director, commented:

"The decision by the Regional Government to vote in favour of the Declaration of Urgent Occupation on the remaining lands required to enable development of the Project, is a major success for the Company. The decision, coming well ahead of the date required by our optimised schedule, shows the level of support that exists for the Project at all levels within the Spanish region in which we operate.

The Company would like to thank the Regional Government for its support over the period that we have been advancing the Project, and especially for this latest and significant decision, which de-risks the timing of Project development and allows the schedule to advance with increased confidence. 

On the ground, the implementation of the construction schedule is continuing and we look forward to updating shareholders on progress over the coming period."  

Detail

Declaration of Urgent Occupation

The compulsory purchase laws in Spain recognise a normal compulsory purchase route ("Normal Route") and a fast-track route known as the "Urgent Route". The main difference between the two routes lies in the timing at which the party requesting the compulsory purchase receives access to and utilisation of the relevant lands. The Urgent Route allows for such land access and use before a full determination has been made in relation to the ownership and/or value of the relevant land plots.  Therefore this route results in land access well ahead of the timeframes required by the Normal Route.

However, the Urgent Route requires an express approval, provided by way of a positive vote by the relevant elected government (in this case being the Regional Government of Castilla y Leon). It is the notice of a positive vote in favour of the Declaration by the Regional Government of Castilla y Leon, and its resultant approval, that Saloro has just received.

As a result of this approval, Saloro will be required to make a down payment for the estimated value of the lands to be compulsory purchased prior to gaining access to the lands.  These funds will be made available to the rightful owners of the lands following completion of the full procedure.

Optimised Construction Schedule

As reported in early June, the Project partners have approved an optimised construction schedule for the Project which targets commissioning of the Barruecopardo mine in late 2017. Although this timeline remains valid, it has been substantially de-risked following the approval of the Declaration of Urgent Occupation on the remaining land blocks required to allow for full implementation of the schedule.

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.

Enquiries to:

Ormonde Mining plc

Steve Nicol, Managing Director Tel: [phone]

Capital M Consultants

Simon Rothschild Mob: [phone]

Murray Consultants

Mark Brennock  Tel: [phone] Mob: [phone]

Davy Corporate Finance (Nomad / ESM Adviser, Joint Broker and Financial Adviser) Eugenée Mulhern / Roland French Tel: [phone]

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Joint Broker)

Ewan Leggat Tel: [phone]

About Ormonde

Ormonde Mining plc is admitted to trading on the AIM market in London and the ESM market in Dublin and is a mineral development and exploration company focused on Spain (Ticker: ORM). In partnership with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management ("Oaktree") through the joint venture company Barruecopardo JV BV (Ormonde 30%/Oaktree 70%), the parties are developing a low cost tungsten mining operation at Barruecopardo in Salamanca Province to become a major European supplier of tungsten. Ormonde also has other exploration projects for gold and copper.

 

END

 

 

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