www.connemaramining.com
Connemara Mining Company plc was established in 2006 by veterans of the Irish zinc industry to exploit zinc opportunities in Ireland and currently holds 38 prospecting licences in central and south-west Ireland. Connemara’s licences are for some or all of the base metals (Bm), barite (b), gold (g), silver (s), and platinum group elements (PGE). The Connemara exploration philosophy is trendology and closeology - follow the mineralised trends and obtain ground as close as possible to existing or former zinc/lead mines.
Connemara Mining starts 2009 programme in Limerick with very promising zinc-lead find
Irish zinc explorer Connemara Mining Company PLC (AIM: CON) said the first drill hole of the 2009 programme at the Stonepark project in County Limerick has shown the best results on the project to date and may indicate a new mineralised zone with potentially higher zinc-lead grades than the earlier discovery 1.5 kilometres southeast of it.
The 2009 exploration programme will include a further 5,000 metres of diamond drilling being co-funded 75 percent by operator Teck Resources (TSX, NYSE: TCK; formerly Teck Cominco) and 25 percent by Connemara Mining ; drilling is ongoing with two drill rigs currently on site.
The first drill hole of the current programme, TC-2638-026, intersected 7.2 metres grading 13.07 percent zinc and 2.23 percent lead from 216.05 metres depth, including 3.75 metres grading 17.06 percent zinc and 3.5 percent lead. The ore textures of the mineralisation are typical of an 'Irish-type' deposit such as Lisheen or Galmoy.
Hole 26 was drilled 1.5 kilometres northwest of the Stonepark zone, in an area referred to as Stonepark North. This is the second hole at Stonepark North and is located 280 metres southeast of TC-2638-012, which in mid-2008, intersected 0.95m grading 2.73 percent zinc and 4.73 percent lead from 203.15 metres.
Both intersections are at a similar depth and stratigraphic level within the host Waulsortian Limestone and together define what appears to be a new, and shallower, zone of mineralisation on the Limerick project.
A number of geophysical surveys are ongoing with the aim of defining additional drill targets outside the Stonepark and Stonepark North zones.
The Stonepark North zone is located approximately 4.5 kilometres west of the Tobermalug discovery at Minco/Xstrata's Pallas Green project.
Connemara chairman John Teeling said: “This is a very positive result. The discovery has almost everything one would want - high grade, the right type of mineralisation, shallow depth and is located a good distance from the earlier discovery.”
