Ormonde Mining’s Spanish deal may net €5m
The company — which also has a gold prospect near its headline asset, the Barruecopardo Tungsten project in Salamanca, in north-western Spain — has signed a binding option agreement with Spanish company, Nueva Tharsis.
This could — pending the successful completion of due diligence by May 15 — result in the Clonee- headquartered firm selling its 100% ownership of the asset, via its Spanish subsidiary, Ormonde Espana, for €5m.
Ormonde bought La Zarza from Nueva Tharsis, for €2m, just over five years ago.
However, only €700,000 of that consideration has been paid to date.
Enhancing this deal further, is that as well as the €5m Ormonde is in line to receive from Nueva, the Irish firm will not have to pay the outstanding €1.3m from the original deal, should the current due diligence round be successful.
Ormonde’s managing director, Kerr Anderson, said the option to sell La Zarza has presented “an opportunity” for the company.
He said: “A successful due diligence process and completion of the divestment would enable Ormonde to be in a position to focus our management, time, and resources on the development of our flagship Barruecopardo Tungsten project and on advancing our emerging gold projects,”
The Irish company is aiming to bring the potentially long-life Barruecopardo to production this year, with an initial target of producing 12% of non-Chinese world tungsten concentrate supply.
Ormonde will retain four investigation permits — currently held by Ormonde Espana — close to La Zarza, which were explored in 2011 and 2012 as part of its then option-agreement with international player, Antofagasta.
The latter pulled out of its La Zarza option agreement late last year, due to concerns that deposit sizes were too small.
Ormonde intends to seek another joint-venture partner to further explore these permits.
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