Shares in Irish exploration group Ormonde Mining soared 23.5 per cent on the London Stock Exchange yesterday following an unsolicited takeover approach from Canada's Almonty Industries.

The board of the Dublin and London-listed company knocked back the unwelcome all-share bid approach from Almonty, which had proposed to swap one of its shares for every 12.2 Ormonde shares.

The offer valued Ormonde’s shares at £0.057 apiece, based on a closing price of 1.10 Canadian dollars for Almonty shares.

The directors of Ormonde slated Almonty’s proposal as being “speculative, opportunistic and lacking in both strategic and economic merit” for shareholders.

The proposal was conditional on the recommendation of Ormonde’s board, which opted to reject it unanimously. The board said it believes there would be negligible support from Ormonde shareholders for the proposal.

Chairman Mike O’Donoghue said the key focus for Ormonde was the development of its flagship tungsten project at Barruecopardo in Spain, adding the company was not surprised by Almonty’s interest.

He said the board saw no merit for shareholders in exchanging Ormonde shares for Almonty shares at a value which it believes significantly undervalues the Meath-based company.

“The proposal would result in a significant dilution of Ormonde shareholders’ ownership of Barruecopardo, whilst not providing funds required to develop the Barruecopardo Project,” he added.

Last month, Ormonde said it was near to securing a permit for the development of its Spanish tungsten mine. The company got approval from the Spanish provincial government for the Barruecopardo mine, which is the last hurdle to be cleared before getting approval from Spain’s federal government.

Ormonde shareholders have been advised by the board to take no action with respect to the Almonty approach.

Shares in Ormonde soared 23.5 per cent to close at 5.25 p in London yesterday, valuing the company at more than £20 million. On the Irish market, the shares added 15 per cent.