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Proactive weekly mining news - Ormonde Mining, ECR Minerals, Cadence Minerals and more

Published: 03:17 03 Jun 2017 EDT

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There was quite a lot of news on the mining front this week. Here are some small cap highlights.

After going six months without a regulatory statement, Ormonde Mining plc (LON:ORM) popped up to say it had pressed 'go' on commissioning its Barruecopardo tungsten mine with a revised timetable in the light of rising tungsten prices.

Commissioning of the mine in Salamanca, Spain is now earmarked for the third quarter of 2018.

The project had been originally scheduled for the end of 2017, but was put back in December 2016 due to the weakness of the metal.

APT prices have gradually been moving north since touching a low of $162 per metric tonne unit in January 2016 and indicators are now pointing towards a sustained increase into the future, the firm said.

Elsewhere in the sector, Kibo Mining PLC (LON:KIBO) revealed it had surrendered most of its early stage licences in the Lake Victoria region of Tanzania as it focuses more on the Mbeya coal mine/power station project and Haneti nickel site.

In total, 79 licences were surrendered over 800 sq km as part of the rationalisation process when it spun out its Imweru and Lubando gold assets into separate listed vehicle Katoro Gold.

Kibo has a majority 57.1% stake in Katoro.

"All the Licences are at a very early stage of exploration and no longer contribute towards the company's strategic development objectives," Kibo said.

Australia-focused gold miner ECR Minerals PLC (LON:ECR) has raised gross proceeds of £1.0mln via an oversUBScribed placing of 55.5mln new shares at a price of 1.8p, it said this week.

The AIM-listed group said the proceeds will be used to "support its continuing activities in Australia and explore new opportunities".

ECR’s chief executive officer, Craig Brown said: "The significant demand from both new and existing investors to take part in this fundraise is an encouraging vote of confidence in ECR's future.”

Cadence Minerals PLC (LON:KDNC) said Macarthur Minerals, in which it has a 20.3% stake, has reported good news from its Marble Bar lithium project.

Macarthur Minerals said it had identified a number of significant lithium bearing, spodumene and lepidolite mineralised pegmatites at Marble Bar, a joint venture lithium project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The new discoveries extend the area of known mineralisation to 14 square kilometres and the total strike length to 9.0 square kilometres.

In broker news, UBS this week downgraded Acacia Mining PLC (LON:ACA) to ‘neutral’ on increased risks for the miner’s Tanzanian operations.

The Swiss bank had previously held firm on its ‘buy’ recommendation for Acacia after the shares had declined in the wake of a ban, announced on 2 March, on gold and copper exports from Tanzania.

UBS now thinks a near-term resolution of the export ban is less likely and has slashed its price target for Acacia from 500p to 300p.

Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd (LON:CGH) said it was confident of first production from its gold mine in the Kygyrz Republic in the first half of 2019.

Dekel Golan, chief executive, said that the bankable feasibility study for the first stage Tulkubash open pit and heap leach is substantially complete subject to the results of this summer's drilling while the local permitting process was also well advanced with most documents submitted.

The full study, including the newly added resource from this summer's drilling campaign, is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2018. This will include an updated resource and reserve to extend the life of the mine.

Mining industry veteran Roger Davey has been appointed to the board of Tharisa PLC (LON:THA) as a non-executive director, the company said this week.

Davey has more than 30 years' operational experience at senior management and director level in the mining industry in South America, Africa and Europe.

His experience at senior management level includes financing, feasibility studies, construction, development, commissioning and operational management of both underground and surface mining operations in gold and base metals, Tharisa said

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