Conroy Gold and Natural Resources PLC is a mineral explorations and development company primarily located in Ireland and Finland. The company’s Clay Lake target in County Armagh, Ireland, previously showed a unique gold-in-soil anomaly, sparking interest in potential yields. The company officially announced on Monday the confirmed discovery of gold values from rock chip sampling in the target’s bedrock.
Conroy Gold collected four samples along a 328-foot-long section of the stream bed in the northwest area of the Clay Lake target. Each of the four samples contained gold. The highest concentration of the four collected samples was 1.31 grams of gold per ton, while the other three samples yielded values of 0.28 grams per ton, 0.12 grams per ton, and 0.05 grams per ton.
“We are very pleased that our follow-up work on part of the large Clay Lake soil anomaly has found gold in the bedrock, confirming both a local source for the anomaly itself and increasing the likelihood that the Clay Lake gold nugget, found in a stream bed in the 1980s, is also locally derived,” Richard Conroy, the company’s chairman explains.
The above results came from one drill hole, though the company plans an additional seven throughout the Clay Lake target. In total, the program will include 1.2 miles of drilling in the Derryhennet section of the target.
The company drilled at a depth of 700 feet with an inclination of -60 degrees. The mineralization results included an intersection of 132.8 feet in a stockwork zone at a depth of 444.5 feet. The intersection showed good gold continuity at the stockwork zone.
Conroy Gold’s Clay Lake target is just over 4 miles northeast of the company’s gold discovery in County Monaghan, the Clontibret target. Here, Conroy Gold has already identified over 1 million ounces of gold in only 20% of the target’s anomaly.
Clay Lake’s gold-in-soil anomaly is measured at approximately 1.2 by 0.6 miles, making it larger than the Clontibret target, with higher yield potentials. The company recorded gold-in-soil values of 1.53 grams per ton of gold-in-soil, making it the most gold-rich target the company’s acquired yet.
“These results enhance the significance of the Clay Lake area and increase its standing as a discovery ranking alongside our Clontibret property,” Conroy explains. “This is an excellent start to the step-out drilling programme at Clay Lake and adds further to the overall gold potential of this new gold district. In addition to this drilling program work is also continuing on other gold targets and further results will be announced in due course.”
Clay Lake’s gold-in-soil values are double those of the Clontribet target. Given these measures combined with the larger mining area, Clay Lake could easily yield multiple millions of ounces of gold.
“Looking at the broader Clay Lake-Clontibret picture shareholders will have noted the Company’s recent discovery of a series of extensive zinc-in-soil anomalies in the vicinity of the two gold finds. Overall, this confirms and enhances our long-held belief of the huge potential of this area,” Conroy adds.
Conroy Gold is clearly off to an excellent start this year given its zinc and gold discoveries in the last few months. While the company may primarily focus on gold, it plans to continue further exploration into zinc resources. “If confirmed, this would be a welcome addition to the well-established gold potential on the company’s license areas,” Conroy explains.
Conroy Gold isn’t the only exploration company striking gold in Ireland recently. Kenmare Resources, a public trading mining and exploration company headquartered in Dublin, announced plans to place 54 million additional ordinary shares into circulation to ultimately raise $12.2 million.
Kenmare wants to use these circulated shares and increased funds to “ensure that the company continues to retain sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations and provide further financial resources to accelerate production expansion plans.” Unlike Conroy Gold, however, Kenmare’s chief producing mine, the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine, is located in Mozambique, a country in East Africa.
While Kenmare and Conroy Gold may share a headquarter location, the two companies aren’t competing for the same gold resources in Ireland.
As gold demand continues rising with the tightening economy, it only makes sense that major producers want to increase their yields. Investors continue flocking toward gold as a safe haven amidst climbing inflation rates while the electronics industry and car manufacturers require the precious metal for its environmentally friendly conductive purposes. New gold mining yields display exciting potential for resolving these supply and demand disruptions.
