London-listed Ormonde Mining said on Friday that Saloro – the operating company of the Barruecopardo tungsten mine, in Spain – is in the final stages of agreeing a €10-million, 12-month loan facility with main shareholder Oaktree Capital Management to provide it with additional liquidity.
Oaktree owns 70% of Saloro.
Ormonde explained on Friday that a revised mining schedule and the deferral of first revenues as a result of the lower grade material encountered during the first months of operation, had resulted in extra mining costs.
The additional liquidity would provide Saloro with support as it established ore mining operations on the main orebody over the coming months.
"While still early in the ramp-up phase, it is encouraging to see that tungsten grades in the mine have been improving, and that the waste stripping required to allow Saloro access to more continuous and higher grade fresh tungsten ore, in the main orebody, has seen significant progress,” commented Ormonde chairperson and interim CEO Michael Donoghue.
He also said that the sentiment in the tungsten market was improving, which could be timely and positive for Saloro as it continued to ramp up operations.