Further Encouraging Progress in Gold Joint Venture

RNS Number : 5199F

Ormonde Mining PLC

18 June 2012

 

18 June 2012

Ormonde Mining plc

("Ormonde" or "the Company")

Further Encouraging Progress in Gold Joint Venture

The Board of Ormonde is pleased to report further drilling results on the "El Facho" gold structure at the Zamora Gold Project, which is in joint venture with Aurum Mining PLC ("Aurum"), with assays received from a further five holes (ORMP 16-20) from the current nine-hole programme. 

Drilling to date has now established and defined a gold mineralised zone over a strike length of some 600 metres with the mineralisation remaining open both at depth and along strike.

Highlights

·     Drill hole ORMP-19 has returned a significant interval of 22 metres grading 1.09 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold (from 79m depth) and drill hole ORMP-20 has returned 9 metres grading 1.24g/t gold (from 56m depth).

·     Hole ORM-19 is located some 100 metres along strike (to the northeast) from previously reported hole ORMP-15, which returned an interval of 22 metres grading 1.94 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold (from 99m depth), within an overall interval of 49 metres grading 1.16g/t gold (from 96m depth).

·     Sixteen of the seventeen holes drilled at El Facho by Ormonde and/or the Joint Venture for which assay results are available have encountered gold mineralisation in excess of 1 g/t across multiple intersections.

·     Based upon these drilling results, modelling of the mineralisation has been carried out and this indicates the presence and continuity of a gold-bearing structure over a strike length of some 600 metres.

·     To assist in the design and planning of further drilling at El Facho, a preliminary resource estimation, carried out on the modelled mineralisation by external consultants to the Joint Venture partners, Aurum Exploration Services (the Irish-based mineral exploration consultant), suggests that the mineralised zone contains between 3.8 million tonnes and 4.8 million tonnes of mineralised material, with average grades from 0.9-1.0g/t gold using a 0.3g/t gold cut-off (total of 122,000-145,000 ounces).  It is important to note that this resource has not been estimated in compliance with any internationally recognised standard and has been undertaken solely to guide further drilling programmes carried out to ascertain the full resource potential in the project area.

·     A three-hole drilling programme has also been completed on the Peralonso Permit; results will be reported upon receipt of assays for all three holes.

·     Aurum has now advanced funds of €500,000 required for expenditure on exploration activities to earn its majority interest in the permits which are the subject of the Joint Venture Agreement.

Kerr Anderson, Ormonde's Managing Director, said:

"At the outset of our current drilling programme last November, we were seeking to confirm the presence of an extended gold mineralisation zone.  We are pleased that today's results from El Facho continue to confirm the gold-bearing structure, with drilling having now extended the  mineralised zone to a length of at least 600 metres.  The level of progress achieved to date has enabled us to model the main mineralised zone for the first time and will help guide future drilling on the project with the objective of expanding the gold-bearing zones further."

Detail

In March 2011, Ormonde entered into a joint venture with Aurum whereby Aurum can earn a 60% interest in two permits in the Zamora Province and a 54% interest in a further two permits in the Salamanca Province (with the total permit area being 106 square kilometres) by spending €500,000 on exploration activities over an 18 month period. 

Drilling to date has been focused on the "El Facho" gold structure in Zamora, where the Joint Venture has drilled eleven holes (ORMP-10, 11 and 13-21) for a total of 2,697 metres of drilling, bringing total drilling at El Facho to eighteen holes drilled by Ormonde / or the Joint Venture (Click here to view plan view of drill holes) for a total of 3,658 metres.  Gold mineralisation is hosted in steeply-dipping structures characterised by quartz veining, silicification and alteration in granites.  The Joint Venture drilling was designed to test for extensions to the known gold intersections and in particular to ascertain whether broader mineralised intervals can be delineated.

Significant results from ORMP-16 to 20 are reported below:

Hole	Length (m)	Dip/Azimuth	From (m)	Thickness (m)	Estimated True Thickness (m)	Gold (g/t)
ORMP-16	180.0	-50o/333o	144	10	7	0.5
and			226	7	5	0.9
ORMP-17	211.5	-50o/324o	148	12	9	0.7
ORMP-18	201.0	-50o/318o	21	14	10	0.4
ORMP-19	223.0	-50o/327o	79	22	16	1.1
ORMP-20	201.1	-60o/331o	55	15	11	0.8
incl			56	9	6	1.2

Previous drilling by Ormonde and/or the joint venture on the Facho structure includes:

Hole	From (m)	Thickness (m)	Gold (g/t)
ORMP 1	51	23	1.1
ORMP 3	131	3	3.6
ORMP 4	40	6	3.7
ORMP 5	56	9	1.5
ORMP 6	104	7	1.1
ORMP 7	38	7	1.2
ORMP-10	89	12	3.4
within	75	30	1.6
within	25	80	0.8
ORMP-11	102	10	2.2
and	275	5	1.9
ORMP-13	154	10	0.6
and	172	3	1.4
ORMP-14	143	1	11.4
ORMP-15	109	11	3.6
within	99	25	1.8
within	96	49	1.2

Based upon all drilling results on the El Facho structure to-date, wireframes have been constructed around the main mineralised zones reflecting gold content and alteration, and these wireframes show continuity of the main gold-bearing structure over a strike length of some 600 metres (Click here to view wireframe gold structure).  Preliminary resource modelling has been carried out within these wireframes by external consultants to the Joint Venture partners, Aurum Exploration Services (the Irish-based mineral exploration consultant).  This has been done to assist in the design and planning of further drilling to ascertain the resource potential in the project area.  This modelling indicates that the mineralised zone comprises some 3.8-4.8 million tonnes with overall grades from 0.9-1.0g/t gold using a 0.3g/t gold cut-off (total of 122,000-145,000 ounces). It is important to note that this resource has not been estimated in compliance with any internationally recognised standard and has been undertaken to guide further drilling programmes.  The range in estimates is due to the use of differing modelling assumptions in the estimation process.

In addition to the drilling at El Facho, three holes (for a total of 277.1m) have now been completed on the Peralonso Permit in the Salamanca Province to test the shallow depth extent of gold mineralisation located in previous trenching.  Gold mineralisation at surface at Peralonso is hosted within Fe-oxide-bearing breccias within altered granites, with previous trenching of an extensive soil geochemical anomaly (400 x 400m) returning a best interval of 5 metres grading 5.4g/t gold.  Results will be reported upon receipt of assays for all three holes.

Notes:

Sampling, Assaying and Quality Control Measures

All drill core has been routinely logged by an experienced geologist.  Relevant core intervals were split in half by diamond saw, with half being sent for assay and the other half being retained in the core boxes for reference.  Sampling is mainly carried out over one metre intervals.

Sample preparation and analyses were performed at ALS Chemex (Spain).  Assays are reported using the fire assay (FA) method with an atomic absorption (AA) finish.  Reference samples (blanks, duplicates and certified standards) are routinely included in each sample batch as quality control measures. .

Kerr Anderson PhD EurGeolPGeo, Managing Director of Ormonde Mining plc, and a qualified person as defined in the Guidance 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.

As noted above, resource information contained in this announcement relating to the El Facho structure has not been estimated in compliance with any internationally recognised standard and has been undertaken solely to guide further drilling programmes in order to ascertain the full resource potential in the project area.  Accordingly this announcement does not constitute a resource update within the meaning of the AIM Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.

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: [phone]

Bankside Consultants

Simon Rothschild  Tel: [phone]   Mob: [phone]

Murray Consultants

Ed Micheau  Tel: [phone]  Mob: [phone]

Davy (Nomad / ESM Adviser)

Eugenée Mulhern / Roland French  Tel: [phone]

Fairfax I.S. PLC (Joint Broker)

Ewan Leggat / Katy Birkin  Tel: [phone]

ENDS

About Ormonde

Ormonde Mining Plc is admitted to trading on the AIM market in London & the ESM market in Dublin. Ormonde is a mineral development and exploration company focused on Spain (Ticker: ORM).

Ormonde's key activities include:

The Barruecopardo Tungsten Project - Ormonde is developing a low cost mining operation at Barruecopardo to become a major, secure European supply of tungsten.

The La Zarza Copper Project- a large "massive sulphide" deposit; exploration for an enlargement to the current copper resources is being funded through a joint venture Antofagasta Minerals.

Gold Explorationin several highly prospective areas of western Spain.

 

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