Conroy Gold and Natural Resources plc announced infill results of high value zinc-in-soil at Longford-Down Massif on the Irish Border.
The miner conducted a sampling programme on the Aughnagurgan section of the extensive (20km2) zinc zone which the company discovered in 2009.
Twenty-three of the sixty-five samples collected recorded values greater than 500ppm zinc over an area of 0.8km by 0.9km (68.7 Ha).
Ten of the samples were reported as being greater than 1,000ppm zinc, with the overall range being from 74ppm to 3,700ppm zinc.
The results also indicated the presence of a range of associated elements including lead, cadmium, manganese and nickel.
The miner plans a follow-up drilling programme to test the target.
The zinc zone in the Longford-Down Massif lies to the south of the new district scale gold trend, where the company plans its first gold mine at Clontibret which has an existing JORC resource of 517,000 gold ounces.
Chairman Professor Richard Conroy said that the company’s main focus remained on the district scale gold trend in the Longford-Down Massif within its 800km2 licence area.
“The Longford-Down Massif is enriched with base metals, as well as gold, and has a significant history of mining for base metals, including zinc, lead, copper and antimony which demonstrate the size and extent of the metalliferous system in the Massif and its mining potential for both gold and base metals.”
The Longford-Down Massif has a history of base metal mining including the antimony mines at Clontibret, where gold was first discovered.
There are also a series of shallow lead and zinc mines worked during the nineteenth century forming what was known as the Armagh – Monaghan mining district.