Ormonde Mining (LSE:ORM), an investor in gold and battery metal exploration assets, has highlighted metallurgical testwork has confirmed marketable copper and nickel concentrates from the Rodburn Target at its Portsoy Project in Aberdeenshire.
The London-listed mining junior holds an 18.9% equity interest in Peak Nickel, which owns Rodburn, while Winshear Metals fully funds exploration there under an option agreement.
Winshear reported copper recoveries of 75-80% and nickel recoveries of 60-65% from batch tests on a composite sample, with head assays of 0.82% copper, 1.64% nickel and 0.11% cobalt.
The nickel concentrate graded 14-16%, with more than 1% cobalt and 0.54% payable copper, a quality Blue Coast Research described as "highly attractive to nickel smelters".
Copper concentrate grades of around 25% carried nickel content below penalty charge thresholds.
"These are very positive results at this stage of the Portsoy Project", said Richard Williams, chief executive of Winshear, adding that the findings support further optimisation testwork as the project advances.
Ormonde chair Brian Timmons called the results "an important validation point for the project" and said the company looks forward to further metallurgical and drilling results as work continues.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Winshear Metals' batch testwork on the Rodburn Target at Portsoy has produced copper and nickel concentrates meeting smelter specifications, with copper recoveries of 75–80% and nickel recoveries of 60–65%. Ormonde holds an 18.9% stake in Peak Nickel (the project owner) while Winshear fully funds exploration; the results validate the processing pathway and support further locked-cycle testwork, but remain at an early technical stage before any production decision.
The testwork confirms that Portsoy can produce marketable concentrates using conventional processing, removing a key technical risk at the exploration stage. However, Ormonde's exposure is indirect (18.9% of Peak Nickel) and Winshear controls funding and advancement; further metallurgical optimization and drilling results are needed before the project's economic viability can be assessed.
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