ORM Ormonde Mining Plc

This announcement contains inside information

28 June 2024

Ormonde Mining plc

("Ormonde", the "Company" or the "Group")

Final audited results for the year ended 31 December 2023

Ormonde Mining plc (AQSE: ORM), a natural resources company with investment exposure to exploration assets including gold and copper in Newfoundland and nickel in Scotland, announces final audited results for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Operational highlights:

·    February 2023 - acquired 20% interest in Peak Nickel Limited ("Peak Nickel"), a private UK company advancing a high-grade battery metals project in Scotland

o  Fast tracking of an initial drilling programme in 2023

o  Peak Nickel published updated Mineral Resource Estimate of a higher volume and grade than historical resource estimate

o  Peak Nickel intends to drill a further 6,000 metres on the prospect this year

·    September 2023 - acquired 36.2% controlling interest in TSX-listed TRU Precious Metals Corporation ("TRU"), which is exploring a structural corridor in Newfoundland that is highly prospective for gold and copper mineralisation

o  Ormonde is supporting TRU with analysis and identification of significant exploration targets at TRU's Golden Rose Project ("Golden Rose")

·    Ongoing dialogue with relevant authorities in Spain regarding renewal of Ormonde's gold Investigation Permits owing to high gold price

·    The Board continues to review additional opportunities for investments in natural resources projects

Financial highlights

·    Total comprehensive income of €358,000 (2022: loss of €1.065 million)

·    Net assets as at 31 December 2023 of €10.48 million (31 December 2022: €4.90 million), including cash and cash equivalents of €2.3 million (31 December 2022: €3.6 million)

·    Received €500,000 deferred consideration in September 2023 from 2022 sale of the La Zarza assets in Spain (remaining €1 million due 2024 and 2025)

·    By virtue of Ormonde controlling the operating activities of TRU since September 2023, under IFRS accounting standards and Ormonde's accounting policies, the Company has consolidated within these Financial Statements the results of TRU along with the relevant portion of TRU's assets and liabilities as at 31 December 2023

Brian Timmons, Chair of Ormonde, commented:

"Whilst continuing to actively monitor the Company's investment portfolio, seeking to maximise the return from each of our investments for shareholders over the medium term, Ormonde is leveraging its highly accomplished internal technical resources to evaluate investment opportunities and will update shareholders on developments in due course.

"We steadfastly believe Ormonde's projects to hold the potential to deliver returns in the medium-term worth multiples of the Company's investment. We look forward to the value of our investee companies growing as exploration continues, resources expand, and potential financing opportunities to accelerate the pace and scope of exploration emerge."

Financial Statements and Notes to the Accounts

For access to the Financial Statements and Notes to Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023, please click on the following link: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2453U_1-2024-6-27.pdf

The full report and accounts will be available later today on the Company's website at: www.ormondemining.com.

Enquiries: 

About Ormonde Mining

Ormonde is a natural resource company which provides its shareholders with exposure to quality and diverse assets across a range of strategic minerals. Ormonde's portfolio includes an initial 36.2% interest in TRU Precious Metals (TSXV: TRU), which is exploring for gold and copper in the highly prospective Central Newfoundland Gold Belt in Canada, and a 20% interest in Peak Nickel Limited, which is advancing exploration on a potentially significant nickel project in Scotland.

Ormonde's shares are listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market under the symbol AQSE: ORM.

For more information, visit the Company's website at www.ormondemining.com. 

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The Directors of the Company are responsible for the release of this announcement.

Chair's Review

Introduction

The strategy of the Board over the past two and a half years has been to identify and invest in assets which provide exposure to high value exploration opportunities without requiring significant expenditure.

This led to two strategic investments being executed during the year under review, both of which the Directors believe hold medium-term potential to yield substantial returns. The first of these, in February 2023, was an acquisition of a 20% equity interest in Peak Nickel Limited ("Peak Nickel"), a private UK company advancing a high-grade battery metals project in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The second, in September 2023, was the acquisition of a 36.2% controlling stake in Toronto-listed TRU Precious Metals Corporation (TSXV: TRU) ("TRU"), which is exploring a structural corridor in Newfoundland, Canada hosting over 45km of strike length that is highly prospective for gold and copper mineralisation.

Peak Nickel Investment

Ormonde's investment case for the Peak Nickel investment which was announced on 7 February 2023 was to gain targeted exposure to an early resource stage nickel sulphide project (including substantial copper and cobalt credits).

Peak Nickel's Rodburn Project in Aberdeenshire is in a tier one jurisdiction with indications of significant size. The investment by Ormonde helped enable an initial drilling programme last year - the first to have been carried out at the project for over 50 years, since a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Consolidated Gold Fields defined a near-surface (historical - non-compliant) resource of 3 million tonnes at 0.52% nickel and 0.27% copper ("Historical Resource").

The results and outcomes of this initial drilling programme (18 holes for 2,600m) were published on Peak Nickel's website (www.peaknickel.co.uk). In its most recent presentation (June 2024), Peak Nickel describes Rodburn as the "UK's highest-grade nickel-copper-cobalt project" and provides an updated Mineral Resource Estimate of a higher tonnage and grade than the Historical Resource. Peak Nickel has stated its intention (subject to funding) to drill a further 6,000 metres on the prospect this year.

Ormonde's technical team believes the Historical Resource has good potential for enlargement, and that the full size potential could be evidenced, at an early stage such that the project may attract the interests of a major seeking an asset with significant "clean" Class 1 nickel producing potential.

There have been some key market developments since the investment by Ormonde in Peak Nickel in early 2023. First, the quoted nickel price has fallen by around 42% from the peak of a price spike in early 2022, due in large part to increases in output from China and Indonesia (principally from carbon intensive laterite sources). The prevailing nickel price is now more consistent with the decade-long average but has undoubtedly weakened investor sentiment. Another development of a more positive nature is that a neighbouring energy transition metal exploration company in Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen Minerals, announced the closing of an equity financing of up to £5.5 million earlier this month, with £3 million subscribed by Central Asia Metals PLC. Ormonde's Directors regard this as a strong endorsement of the potential for nickel projects in Aberdeenshire where Peak Nickel is exploring, particularly as the investment has been made in the current nickel price environment. Ormonde maintains its view that the opportunity to replace environmentally costly nickel laterite production with Class 1 nickel produced from sulphide sources in ethical mining jurisdictions will pay off in the medium term as such raw materials will be essential for the global energy transition.

TRU Investment

On 30 June 2023, Ormonde announced its intention to acquire an initial 36.2% controlling equity interest in TRU's share capital for a total consideration of CA$3 million. Ormonde has the potential to increase its shareholding to up to 46% through the exercise of warrants. This investment was approved by Ormonde's shareholders on 25 August 2023 and completed on 5 September 2023.

TRU is exploring the Golden Rose Project ("Golden Rose"), a large and prospective early stage gold and copper prospect in Newfoundland, a jurisdiction which is ranked by the Fraser Institute as the most attractive for mining investment in Atlantic Canada and the ninth most attractive worldwide.

Golden Rose is bookended by two gold projects with reported resources. Directly to the southwest of Golden Rose, the Cape Ray Shear Zone Project, under active exploration by AuMEGA Metals (formerly Matador Mining Limited) contains 0.6 million ounces of Indicated and Inferred resources, while Calibre Mining to the northeast is in the advanced development and construction phase of the Valentine Gold Project, holding 5 million ounces of Measured, Indicated and Inferred resources with a projected annual production rate of 190,000 ounces of gold. Calibre Mining acquired the project last year for CA$345 million in a timely illustration of the kind of opportunity Ormonde's Directors believe exists for Golden Rose.

In addition to establishing several high-quality, high-grade, drill-ready gold targets on Golden Rose, exploration activities by TRU over the past three years have also identified copper and other critical mineral anomalies at numerous locations, the potential of which are being further investigated in the field this summer.

Since Ormonde's investment in TRU, the Company's technical team has been closely involved in analysing and identifying these significant exploration targets at Golden Rose. On foot of this analysis, the TRU management team has been engaged in discussion with potential partners, exploring financing structures with a view to advancing Golden Rose exploration whilst minimising TRU's cash outflow.

Spanish Gold Assets

Ormonde maintains a Spanish subsidiary in which there are two Investigation Permits prospective for gold located in the Zamora province in western Spain. These are legacy permits which have been subject to renewal applications for a number of years and were previously being advanced in a joint venture with another listed company.

With the price of gold more than doubling in the decade since work was last conducted on these permits, Ormonde is naturally exploring options to seek to realise value from these interests. In this regard, the Company is engaged with the relevant Spanish mines department seeking to achieve the renewals for these Investigation Permits.

Following the sale of the Group's La Zarza assets in Spain for EUR 2.3 million, which completed in September 2022, €1.3 million has been received to date, including €500,000 in September 2023. The remaining €1 million is due in two equal payments in September 2024 and 2025.

Financials

In September 2023, Ormonde acquired a 36.2% equity interest in TRU and subsequently by agreement appointed a majority of directors as its nominees to the Board of TRU thereby giving Ormonde effective control over the operating activities of TRU. As such, in accordance with Ormonde's accounting policies and IFRS accounting standards, the Company has consolidated within the following Financial Statements the results of TRU since September 2023 along with the relevant portion of TRU's assets and liabilities as at 31 December 2023. This accounting treatment resulted in the booking of a net gain of €886,000 on the equity investment for the year. Full details are set out in Note 8 and 13 to the Financial Statements.

In accounting for the Peak Nickel investment, the Company, under IFRS Accounting Standards is required to apply a specified fair value treatment. This has given rise, as detailed in note 8, to a valuation of GB£1.02M (€1.17M) to the Peak Nickel investment and a gain of €585,000 recognised through the income statement.

Accordingly, for the year under review, Ormonde recorded a total comprehensive income of €358,000 (2022: loss of €1.065 million). The Group had net assets of €10.48 million at 31 December 2023 (31 December 2022: net assets of €4.90 million), including cash and cash equivalents of €2.3 million (31 December 2022: €3.6 million).

Outlook

Whilst continuing to actively monitor the Company's investment portfolio, seeking to maximise the return from each of our investments for shareholders over the medium term, Ormonde is leveraging its highly accomplished internal technical resources to evaluate other investment opportunities and will update shareholders on developments in due course.

I am asked by shareholders from time to time when the value of Ormonde's investment portfolio will be fairly reflected in the Company's share price. Early-stage exploration is inherently slow to progress, especially so in challenging investment markets; however, we steadfastly believe Ormonde's projects to hold the potential to deliver returns in the medium-term worth multiples of the Company's investment. We look forward to the value of our investee companies growing as exploration continues, resources expand, and potential financing opportunities to accelerate the pace and scope of exploration emerge.

Brian Timmons

Chair

27 June 2024

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the year ended 31 December 2023

All activities are derived from continuing activities. The profits/(losses) and total comprehensive income/losses for the year (and preceding year) are allocated between the equity holders of the Company and non controlled interests. The Group has not recognised gains or losses other than those dealt within the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

as at 31 December 2023

Company Statement of Financial Position

as at 31 December 2023

The accompanying notes in the Annual Report and Group Financial  Statements available on the Group's website form an integral part of these financial statements