ORM.L Regulatory News (ORM)

24 Mar 2005 07:00

Ormonde Mining PLC24 March 2005 ORMONDE MINING PLC Placing to Raise Stg£3.01 million (€4.33 million)andAIM Admission DUBLIN & LONDON: 24 March 2005 - The Board of Ormonde Mining plc ("Ormonde" or"the Company") is pleased to announce the conditional placing of 30,100,000 newOrdinary Shares of nominal value €0.025 ("New Ordinary Shares") in the capitalof the Company at Stg10p (14.4c) per share, equating to 24.7% of the existingissued share capital of the Company and raising in aggregate Stg£3.01 million(€4.33 million) before expenses ("the Placing"). In capping the Placing at thislevel, the Board was required to scale back applications as the result of excessdemand for the issue. The New Ordinary Shares have been conditionally placed byDavy and Seymour Pierce, primarily with institutional investors in London andDublin. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Placing, amounting toapproximately Stg£2.8 million (€4.0 million), to accelerate its strategy ofbuilding a gold mining business in Spain, where it is currently evaluating fivegold projects: La Zarza (gold-copper), Salamon, Trives, Tracia and Salamanca. Remaining funds will be used for general working capital purposes. JOINT BROKERS In conjunction with the Placing and its intention to apply foradmission to the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange("AIM"), Ormonde has appointed London-based Seymour Pierce Limited as jointbroker to the Company. Davy, currently Sponsor for Ormonde's Irish StockExchange quotation, will act as Nominated Adviser for Ormonde's intended AIMquotation. Davy and Seymour Pierce have jointly raised the funds for thePlacing. AIM ADMISSION Ormonde will be seeking admission to AIM in order to facilitate its intendedgrowth from an exploration and development company into a gold producer. TheBoard believes that admission to AIM will increase visibility and awareness ofOrmonde in the investment community, and thereby anticipates that tradingliquidity in the Company's stock, having improved significantly during the lasttwelve months, will increase further as a result. Furthermore, the Board is of the view that an AIM quotation will enhance theattractions of an investment in Ormonde to both investment funds and privateinvestors; admission to AIM will also better serve the Company's growing UKshareholder base, which had increased to 49% by the year end 2004. Currently,approximately 20% of the existing issued Ordinary Shares are held bypredominantly London-based institutional shareholders. Admission to AIM is expected to be on 19 April, 2005 and further announcementswill be made in due course. Ormonde will maintain its Irish quotation,currently on the Exploration Securities Market of the Irish Stock Exchange butto be transferred to its forthcoming replacement market, the Irish EnterpriseExchange ("the IEX"). CONDITIONS OF THE PLACING Completion of the Placing is conditional upon admission of the New OrdinaryShares to trading on the IEX, admission of the existing issued share capital andof the New Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM, and on shareholder approval to aresolution required to facilitate allotment of the New Ordinary Shares whichwill be sought at an extraordinary general meeting of the Company. A circular convening an extraordinary general meeting of the Company for 11.00a.m. on Monday, 18 April, 2005 ("the EGM") has been posted to shareholders. TheEGM will be held at the registered office of the Company, being at the officesof LHM Casey McGrath, 6 Northbrook Road, Dublin 6, Ireland, for the purposes ofseeking the requisite shareholder approval. Copies of the circular are availableon request from the Company. It is expected that, subject to prior satisfaction of its conditions, thePlacing will complete on or around 19 April, 2005. Enquiries to: Kerr Anderson, Managing DirectorOrmonde Mining plcTel: +353 46 9073623info@ormondemining.com Mike Donoghue, Non-Executive ChairmanOrmonde Mining plcTel: +353 46 9073623 Fraser Gardiner, Investor RelationsOrmonde Mining plcTel: +353 86 393 1178 Eugenee Mulhern/Fergal MeeganDavy Corporate Finance LimitedTel: +353 1 679 6363 Simon Rothschild Bankside Consultants Tel: +44 (0)207 444 4153/Mobile: +44 (0)7703 167065 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Ormonde Mining is an Irish company focused on acquiring and developing goldprojects in Spain. Ormonde's portfolio contains advanced projects withsubstantial gold (and copper) resources, including La Zarza with one millionounces of gold, and other properties where the Company anticipates that drillingwill identify significant new resources. The Company has a strong local Spanishmanagement team, supported by a Board with extensive exploration expertise inthe region and mine development experience. For more information, please visit www.ormondemining.com or contact the Companyat info@ormondemining.com. 24 March, 2005 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange