Mining company lowers its losses

CONNEMARA Mining, the Irish zinc and lead exploration company, has reported a significant lowering in its full-year losses and is set to raise funds through an additional share placing to progress work at its main asset in Limerick.

The AIM-listed company – one of the John Teeling group of Irish exploration businesses – owns two significant zinc sites in Limerick and Meath. Mr Teeling, who chairs the company, has been on an investor roadshow of British broker houses in the past week and was, apparently, well-received with prospects surrounding the company’s Stonepark mine in Co Limerick seeming positive. The company is hoping to raise £1 million (€1.22m) to progress the site.

“Ongoing drilling in Stonepark will see a flow of results. Every hole is unlikely to hit commercial ore, but within a year – if not earlier – the shape and size of the orebody will take shape. It’s going to cost Connemara up to £1m, over the coming two years to pay our way in Stonepark,” Mr Teeling said.

Connemara’s latest set of annual results – published yesterday – showed a pre-tax loss of €269,929 for last year. This was down from a loss of €472,795 for 2008. The company’s operating loss was down from €504,253 to €283,271 and the loss per share figure dropped from 3.11c in 2008 to 1.78c last year.

Recent drilling results from the Stonepark asset – which continues to grow in size and importance – showed an extension of high-grade mineralisation and the two rigs currently drilling the area are likely to remain on site until the end of next year, with Connemara providing 25% of the drilling costs.

“The potential in Stonepark is excellent and results continue to be very good.

The timing of this discovery is ideal as zinc demand is growing and supply is, at best, flat,” added Mr Teeling.