Dublin-based exploration firm Conroy Gold may be moving a step closer to getting precious metals out of the ground in Northern Ireland.
It follows “encouraging” results from two scout drill holes on its Mountain Lodge base metal target in south Armagh.
The Mountain Lodge and adjacent Wolf Island base metal targets are located to the south east of the precious metals target area at Clay Lake, where the company has previously made significant gold discoveries.
The find was made in the northern section of the 20 square kilometres zinc zone which Conroy has discovered in the Longford-Down Massif.
And the AIM-listed prospector said the zinc and lead mineralisation discoveries are “sufficient to provide directors with confidence that further drilling is warranted”.
The two drill holes tested a 275 metre portion of the 800 metre wide section of the zinc in soil anomaly at the Mountain Lodge target and demonstrate that wide zones (30 metres and 25 metres) of zinc mineralisation are present at a low grade.
The samples were analysed by the ALS Loughrea (formerly OMAC) laboratory in Galway.
It still leaves over 500 metres of width to the west, where some of the highest zinc in soil values have been returned, and further drilling of the anomaly to test for higher grades will be carried out shortly.
Conroy Gold and Natural Resources chairman Professor Richard Conroy said: “These results from the first scout holes in this extensive anomaly are encouraging.
“The wide intersections indicate the potential for base metals in an area which was once known as the Armagh Monaghan Mining District.
“We look forward to following up, in due course, on the positive base metal results which these scout holes have demonstrated, in addition to progressing the company’s highly successful gold exploration programme in the region.”
London-listed Conroy has previously identified four gold areas near its Creenkill gold target area located in the townland of Creenkill in Armagh and has also reported positive assay results from its ongoing drill programme in the Derryhennet section of the Clay Lake gold target, also in Co Armagh.