A newly-formed company, which has just bought a site at Kilbrecken in Quin, Co Clare, from Canadian mining giant Lundin, is being headed up by Australian businessman Michael Hudson.

High-grade zinc has been discovered in deep veins at the site and the firm says indications are good that a significant mining operation may be possible.

The new company, Hannan Ltd, will begin an assessment of the site immediately with exploratory drilling and non-invasive seismic tests due to begin early next year. A small local team will be employed to undertake these assessments and it will be a number of years before full-scale mining could begin.

If successful, the mine will operate fully underground with the zinc deposits running to at least 400 metres (1,300ft) under the surface. Depending on the size of the zinc deposit, the mine could employ between 200 and 400 employees.

Mr Hudson said the first step in the process is to open a dialogue with local people about the proposed development.

“We look forward to working with the local people on this project. Our aim is to make sure that there are no surprises [for the local people], and to make sure that everyone is aware of what is going on,” said Mr Hudson.

“One of the first steps would be to set up drilling rigs for site testing. We have a certain amount of flexibility over where we place these rigs so we would be very keen to discuss this with the local people and talk with local landowners.”

The Clare mine is being developed for its high-grade zinc but it also contains deposits of silver, lead and copper.