The Australian exploration group Pasminco has taken a six-month option to invest €500,000 over the next three years to earn a 50 per cent interest in eight prospecting licences near Tullamore which are currently held by the British group Hereward Ventures. Pasminco can earn a further 40 per cent interest in the licences by spending a further €800,000 on exploration.

Hereward has compiled existing exploration data on the licences and also flown a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey over the entire licence area. Pasminco will process this data to identify drilling targets for lead-zinc mineralisation.