ORM.L Regulatory News (ORM)

7 Aug 2007 07:01

Ormonde Mining PLC07 August 2007 07 August 2007 Ormonde Mining plc Ormonde reports high grade gold drilling intercepts at its Salamanca Gold Project DUBLIN & LONDON: 07 August 2007 - Ormonde Mining plc ("Ormonde" or "the Company") is pleased to report new gold intercept results from drilling at the Pino deOro prospect, part of its Salamanca Gold Project in western Spain. Ormonde'sdrilling is a follow-up on high grade gold intersections drilled by SpanishGovernment agencies in the 1990s. Main Points • New assay results include 1.0 metre grading 18.9 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold and 3.0 metres grading 4.3 g/t gold • Drilling on the first of several structures at Pino de Oro has now established gold at shallow depths with mineralisation intersected over a strike length of at least 500 metres and open in various directions (11 out of 13 holes on this first structure have intersected gold mineralisation) • Intersected widths in all drilling to-date (Ormonde and Government agencies) vary from 1 metre to 11 metres, with grades ranging from 1.6 g/t to 65 g/t gold • Visible gold has been observed in drill core and initial metallurgical testwork indicates that over 95 per cent gold recovery can be achieved Kerr Anderson, Managing Director, said today, "Although Ormonde's focus is currently on the Bankable Feasibility Study at ourLa Zarza Copper-Gold Project in southern Spain and the recently upgradedBarruecopardo Tungsten Project in Salamanca, today's news highlights that wealso maintain an active gold exploration programme designed to develop the bestopportunities to add to the Company's Spanish resource base." "This first phase of drilling at Pino de Oro has validated the historic resultsand established that the first gold structure to be tested has a strike lengthin excess of 500 metres. These results are considered most encouraging and,coupled with the positive initial gold metallurgical testwork and presence ofseveral other untested structures, ensure that Pino de Oro will be the focus ofOrmonde's gold exploration programmes. Ormonde has a 75 per cent interest in the Pino de Oro prospect and is earning 90per cent through exploration expenditure. Drilling Results Ormonde has completed 9 drillholes (ORMP-1 to ORMP-9) at the Pino de Oroprospect for a total of 1,436 metres. These holes were designed to follow-up onprevious widely spaced drilling by Spanish Government agencies in the 1990s.Two structures out of a total of 12 mapped in the permit area have been drilltested: "El Facho" (ORMP-1 to 7) and "La Solana" (ORMP-8 and 9). Positive goldassay results have been returned from both structures highlighting the "multi-structural" nature of the prospect area. The assay results received fromOrmonde's drilling are as follows: Hole Structure From (m) Width (m) Gold (g/t) ORMP-1 El Facho 73.0 1.0 16.6 ORMP-2 El Facho 224.0 1.0 3.5 ORMP-3 El Facho 132.0 1.0 6.9 ORMP-4 El Facho 40.0 1.0 18.9 ORMP-5 El Facho 49.0 1.0 3.9 and 58.0 6.0 2.1 ORMP-6 El Facho 107.0 4.0 1.7 ORMP-7 El Facho 38.0 7.0 1.6 ORMP-8 La Solana 95.0 3.0 4.3 In addition: • Visible gold was observed in ORMP-5 at 49 metres depth. The lower than expected assay grade of 3.9 g/t gold is typical of a nugget effect in coarse-grained gold deposits (see discussion below). • The intersection in ORMP-5 from 58.0 metres grading 2.1 g/t gold also contains 62 g/t silver. ORMP-1 was reported in an announcement on 28 February 2007, ORMP-9 did notintersect the target zone. Relevant results from previous Government drilling: Hole Structure From (m) Width (m) Gold (g/t) P14 El Facho 74.0 1.0 65.8 P15 El Facho 132.0 2.0 11.1 P17 El Facho 44.0 1.0 14.8 P20 El Facho 124.0 1.0 4.3 JCL12 La Solana 54.0 10.7 3.8 The gold mineralisation occurs in a series of north-east trending structuralzones comprising quartz veins and breccias within granite rocks. The mainhigh-grade gold bearing zone, El Facho, has a near vertical orientation andextends for 500 metres along strike. The mineralised structure crops out onsurface and has only been tested to a vertical depth of 100 metres (i.e., goldmineralisation is open at depth). The highest grades (ORMP-1, 3 and 4, P14 andP15) occur in the central part of this structure, with broader zones at lowergrades (e.g., ORMP-5, 6 and 7) at its north-east end. Ormonde's hole ORMP-8 on the La Solana structural zone, 700 metres to thesouth-east of El Facho, has confirmed the presence of the gold mineralisationintersected by the Government in drillhole JCL12. The gold at Pino de Oro is coarse-grained and there is a nugget effect, typicalof this kind of gold mineralisation. This results in repeat assays of the samesample giving variable gold grade results (sometimes higher, sometimes lowerthan the original assay). The results reported here are the average grades ofall assays performed on each sample. Initial Gold Recovery Test An initial gold and silver recovery test was carried out on a gold mineralisedsample from ORMP-4. The test showed that over 95 per cent of gold and over 95per cent of silver were recovered from the sample using a standard bottle-rolltechnique. This is a very encouraging result and further scoping tests will becarried out as part of the next evaluation programme. Kerr Anderson PhD EurGeol PGeo, Managing Director of Ormonde Mining plc, and aqualified person as defined in the Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and GasCompanies, March 2006, of the London Stock Exchange, has reviewed and approvedthe technical information contained in this announcement. A glossary explaining technical terms contained in this announcement can befound at www.ormondemining.com/projects/glossary.htm. Enquiries to: Ormonde Mining plc Kerr Anderson, Managing Director,Fraser Gardiner, DirectorTel: +353 (0)46 9073623 Bankside ConsultantsSimon Rothschild Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 8871 Mobile: +44 (0)7703 167065 Davy (Nominated Adviser to Ormonde)Fergal Meegan Tel: + 353 1 6796363 ENDS About Ormonde Ormonde Mining plc is quoted on the AIM in London and the IEX in Dublin.Ormonde is a mineral development and exploration company focused on Spain, withthe objective of developing mining projects and taking them into production. Ormonde's main project is the La Zarza Copper-Gold Project in southern Spainwhere a Bankable Feasibility Study is being carried out by leading internationalengineering firms. A pre-feasibility study completed in September 2006 showedpositive economics for the development of an underground mining operation at LaZarza. Ormonde is also evaluating the Barruecopardo high-grade tungsten deposit in theSalamanca area. Following two stages of exploration drilling, the definition ofhigh-grade tungsten mineralisation and preliminary metallurgical testwork, thisproject has been upgraded to advanced project status. A continuous programme ofin-fill and step-out drilling is now underway with a view to fast-tracking theevaluation of this project. Ormonde is also exploring several gold exploration targets in the Salamanca areaand in northwest Spain. For more information please visit www.ormondemining.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange