ORM.L Share News (ORM)

Mineral exploration outfit Beowulf has added ground after finishing its 32-hole drill programme on its wholly-owned Kallak iron ore deposit in northern Sweden."We remain convinced of the quality and quantity of our iron ore assets and firmly believe that Kallak will prove to be a major iron ore body," said executive chairman Clive Sinclair-Poulton.More than three quarters of drill cores have been selected for assaying, though results aren't expected before the end of October.Anglesey Mining is lower after 41%-owned Labrador Iron Mines (LIM) said it is still trying to resolve several issues with local Inuit tribes objecting to its Schefferville iron ore project in western Labrador, Canada."There can be no assurance that LIM will be successful in reaching a final agreement with any First Nations group who may assert aboriginal rights or may have a claim which affects LIM's properties or may be potentially impacted by the Schefferville project".But the group is still targeting full scale production in April 2011 and output of 2m tonnes of iron ore during that calendar year.Gold miner Avocet is up again after confirming Russell Edey, former chairman of AngloGold Ashanti, has taken over from Nigel McNair Scott as chairman, in line with plans announced in July.Latin America-focused oil explorer GeoPark has successfully drilled and tested a new oil well on the Guanaco oil field on the Fell block in Chile. A production test at about 2,627 metres flowed at a rate of some 1,660 barrels per day (bpd) of oil with no water. An independent Texan reserve auditor has confirmed Gulf of Mexico-focused Leed Petroleum's reserves are in line with the previous audit on 1 January."We are pleased to have maintained our level of reserves whilst continuing to produce and generate good cash flow," said chief executive Howard Wilson. Increases in net reserves offset production run-off.Ormonde's Barruecopardo tungsten project in Salamanca, Spain, would be best suited to open pit mining at a design output capacity of 500,000 tonnes a year, up 25% on previous estimates of initial production rates. The study by Scott Wilson Mining also revealed, based just on current indicated resources, that Barruecopardo is capable of generating €9.3m per year of averaged pre-tax operating cash flows for 10 years at the current tungsten price of $245 per metric ton unit (mtu) of tungsten trioxide."This is an excellent outcome," said MD Kerr Anderson. "The results have exceeded our expectations both in terms of net cash flow projections and the life of the open pit portion of the project." Oxford Nutrascience, which makes chewy sweets to treat dysphagia, a condition that makes swallowing difficult, posted higher revenues in the six months to June 30, but losses soared as it continued developing products.The company, whose Ellactiva Cranberry chews are sold in Boots, posted pre-tax losses of £488,000 compared with £111,000 the previous year, on revenues that rose to £81,000 from £29,000.Oxford Nutra joined AIM in February.Vitesse Media, the publisher behind business titles such as Growth Company Investor, moved into profit in the half year to July 31, helped by growth in its online business.Pre-tax profits for the period totalled £33,000, against a loss of £90,000 the previous year. Revenues fell to £1.56m from £1.86, partly because the company's big event the Growth Company Investor Show is being held later this month rather than in June.There has been a board room reshuffle at Bulgarian hotels operator Orchid Developments Group. Mark Holdsworth, a 20-year industry veteran and founder of the Fabian Romania Property Fund, has been appointed as a non-executive director and deputy chairman with effect from 22 September 2010. Joseph Georg Drescher, who has 40 years of professional experience of banking in Switzerland, is also joining as a non-executive director, as is Amir Rosentuler, currently a vice president of ECI Telecom, a supplier of networking infrastructure.Tim Childs has resigned as a non-executive director with immediate effect.