Current Account was interested to see Conroy Diamonds & Gold, Richard Conroy's latest exploration vehicle, appoint Dolmen Butler Briscoe as its Irish broker, even though Conroy doesn't have an Irish market listing. Appointing Dolmen is aimed at drumming up domestic interest and boosting liquidity in the shares.

However, even with two big lead/zinc discoveries (one by Conroy before it was taken over by Sir Anthony O'Reilly's Arcon), mining and exploration shares are in the doldrums.

Conroy Diamonds is looking at a gold prospect on the Armagh border but even the glitter of a potential gold find is not going to have punters flocking to the shares.

One assumes that, in the relatively short term, Conroy will add a Dublin listing to its AIM listing in London. It will, however, take some extraordinarily good news from its gold prospect to persuade punters, who by now have a pretty jaundiced attitude towards any Irish exploration stock.