Listed mineral resource company Ormonde Mining reported a pretax loss of €1.9 million in 2016, but said its Spanish tungsten project is progressing "at full speed".
Ormonde reported a pretax loss of €1.9 million in the year to December 31st, 2016, compared with a profit of €2.4 million for 2015, due to the impact of the €2 million impairment of its La Zarza asset and the share of loss in its associate investment, the Barruecopardo joint venture. Revenue rose by 90 per cent to €1 million.
The Barruecopardo venture in western Spain is a world-class tungsten project which, once in full production, will deliver about 12 per cent of current non-Chinese world tungsten concentrate supply. Ormonde has a 30 per cent share in the project, on which it is working with its partner, Oaktree Capital Management, which has a 70 per cent interest.
Chairman Mike Donoghue said the partners decided in June 2017 to provide the required approvals to enable the project to progress at full speed towards commissioning of a new mine at Barruecopardo during the third quarter of 2018.
“This exciting development comes after the successful completion, during 2016, of a process whereby all of the lands required to develop the project were secured, and is set against a backdrop of rising tungsten prices and increasing demand for tungsten concentrates,” he said.
