Resource round-up: Ind. Resources, Ormonde, Solo Oil ...

The Italy focused gas company, Independent Resources (IRG), said it is accelerating its strategy review after an earthquake struck the area where its Rivara underground gas storage project is situated. The group said that the whole concept of underground natural gas storage is now being called into question as a result of what IRG's Chairman, Grayson Nash called "irrational fears". The company declared a loss of £0.98m in the six months to the end of March, versus a loss of £0.47m the year before. The group had net cash of £1.65m at the end of March.Ormonde Mining rose on Monday after it reported encouraging progress at its El Facho gold structure at the Zamora Gold Project in Spain. The firm said it had established and defined a gold mineralised zone over a strike length of some 600m with the mineralisation remaining open both at depth and along strike. The project is a joint venture with Aurum Mining. Ormonde rose 3% following the news.Solo Oil fell 4.5% after it announced production at its oil wells in Western Ontario, Canada, would be delayed. The firm said production from the main Ausable oil production wells had been deferred by several weeks. But it added: "It is clear that all the commissioning issues are with surface equipment and that the wells will meet previously anticipated performance expectations".Shares were off slightly at Coal of Africa after it said negotiations were ongoing with Exxaro Coal over the latter taking a 30% in the Makhado Project in South Africa. "The parties have agreed to continue negotiations and the assessment process to finalise the valuation of the Makhado Project, and that the deadline for a formal decision regarding the exercise of Exxaro's right to a 30% equity participation in the Makhado Project shall now be 30 September 2012," the firm said. Coal of Africa's shares were down 2% in early trading.Tertiary Minerals said it had secured a £10m funding facility, pushing shares up 4.3% in early trading. The firm said that the deal with Darwin Strategic gave it a flexible source of funding which could be used entirely at the company's discretion. "As we look to a transition of our fluorspar projects from exploration to development it is important that we diversify the range of financial resources available to the company," it said.mm