Firm reveals gold reserves at border

A potential 15m to 20m ounces of gold reserves exist along the border corridor linking counties Longford and Down, according to mineral exploration firm Conroy Gold and Natural Resources.

The Dublin-based firm — which hopes to develop Ireland’s first commercial gold mine at Clontibret in Co Monaghan — made the claim yesterday, based on its own studies of the 50km Longford Massif gold trend, which the firm holds under licence.

The findings add to its previously announced discovery of an extensive zinc-in-soil anomaly in Monaghan and Armagh.

Company chairman Richard Conroy said the firm is “steadily working” towards bringing a gold mine into production at Clontibret, the technical and financial viability of which was confirmed in an independent study recently.

Conroy Gold’s annual results, issued yesterday, show a near 21% year-on-year drop in pre-tax losses for the 12 months to the end of May, from €533,262 to €423,979.

“We are steadily working towards bringing Clontibret into production whilst still discovering additional targets, in particular at Clay Lake [the firm’s Armagh licence area], where indications are for high tonnage and overall gold content,” Mr Conroy said.

“We have also now identified two significant base metal targets on the licence area, one showing zinc results of up to 30%.”

As of the end of its latest financial year, Conroy’s net assets had increased from nearly €12.7m to just over €13m.

Meanwhile, Conroy’s sister company, Karelian Diamond Resources — the Dublin prospector focused solely on diamond opportunities located close to the Russian border in Finland — yesterday reported full-year pre-tax losses of €179,955; down from €207,980 at the end of the previous year.