Mining company Conroy Diamonds and Gold said today that results from infill and regional soil sampling at its gold targets in counties Monaghan and Armagh, showed values ranging up to 4,047 parts per million (ppm) of zinc.
The findings raise the possiblity of a large zinc discovery at the sites.
In a statement Conroy said infill sampling has resulted in three separate zinc-in-soil anomalies merging into a single, extensive anomaly covering an area of more than 8km2. The anomalies are located just a few kilometres away from the firm's one million ounce gold discovery at Clontibret in Co Monaghan and to the south of the large gold anomaly recently discovered at Clay Lake in Co Armagh.
A total of 166 samples (137 infill; 29 regional) were collected and analysed, returning an average value of 466ppm zinc. Individually, 55 samples assayed over 500ppm, including eight of more than 1,000ppm. Typical background zinc-in-soil values in the area are less than 200ppm.
All of the Company’s prospecting licences in Ireland lie within the Longford-Down Massif, a major geological structure. Apart from Clontibret, it also features a number of near-surface lead and zinc ore bodies which supported historic production in the nineteenth century. These include the Annaglogh lead-zinc-copper mine which was to the west of these new zinc anomalies.
Conroy said the latest results provide further evidence of the presence of "a significant metalliferous system that appears to be a zoned."
“Whilst we remain focused on delineation and development of the Clontibret gold target, the latest sampling results increase the possibility that we have also made a significant zinc discovery nearby. The merging of three previously discovered zinc anomalies into a very large single target, sample values substantially higher than typical background and historic base metal mining in the region, all indicate that the area has significant upside potential," said the firm's chairman, Prof Richard Conroy.
