News

January 13, 2009

Ormonde's Barruecopardo Tungsten Project Now Looks As Though It Could Be Producing Next Year

By Alastair Ford

The latest drilling results from Ormonde Mining’s Barruecopardo tungsten project in Spain do more than just fill in a few blanks, though they do that well enough. They also allow the company to double the tonnage it will use in mine modeling studies from 200,000 tonnes per year to 400,000 tonnes, as there is now much greater certainty about the continuity of the orebody, especially around the southern end where all the latest drilling took place. At this stage there won’t be an upgrade to the resource, reported last July at five million tonnes, although the greater certainty generated by the latest round of infill drilling has allowed the company to notch the cut-off down to 0.25%, thereby adding tonnage, although at a small cost to the average grade, which drops from 0.6% to 0.48%. The market certainly appreciated the news, driving Ormonde’s shares in an upward direction for a change. The shares have risen by around 25 per cent to 4.75p since the latest drilling news came out.

That’s some way off the company’s highs of course, but then you’d expect that in this market, and in any case, Ormonde’s shareholders have learned to become a patient bunch over the years. For the record, the 12 month share price high was last summer, when the tungsten resource numbers were first announced, the tungsten price was stronger, and the world’s economic and financial system looked as though it was still reasonably functional and effective. Back then the market didn’t seem to mind...