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GOLD AND ZINC exploration firm Connemara Mining has been granted five new prospecting licences over thousands of acres on the Inishowen peninsula in Co Donegal.
In a statement to the London stock exchange, the Dublin-based Connemara said its geologists considered the 187 sq km area a prospect for “high-grade gold mineralisation” with the potential for other base metal deposits.
A previous mining licence holder for the region found gold in some rock samples, but no major outcrop of the precious metal.
However in 2013 the Tellus Border survey revealed signs of elevated gold in the region as well as several other sites in the border counties.
The licence area contains the former Glentogher lead and silver mine, which was first worked in the late 18th century.
Rival prospector Conroy Gold has announced plans for Ireland’s first commercial gold mine at Clontibret in Co Monaghan, part of what it said was a 50km-long gold seam from Co Armagh to Co Cavan.
Digging to start soon
Connemara said its own prospecting programme would start “in the coming days” with results expected in July.
Chairman John Teeling, who sold the Cooley Distillery to a US company for $95 million in 2012, said the move “furthers the aggressive stance we are taking in discovering Ireland’s next gold deposit”.
The company has been granted another 29 prospecting licences for potential zinc and gold deposits across the country, including a separate block of 10 licences in the Stranorlar region of Donegal, but it is yet to develop a commercially-viable project.
In 2013 it recorded a loss of €348,000 after banking income of just €498, while in the first six months of last year it lost another €140,000.
First published 2.08pm
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And dump its financial crap on the taxpayer. But oh no we couldnt have mortgage write downs for regular home owners. The cost of this alone would probably give back financial control to thousands of people who made much less investment error than the so called professionals.
Exactly ! How much will this buy out cost us this time ?
Hopefully they now reduce their SVR by 1.5-2% so that I can spend some of my hard earned cash on myself and family
Hopefully the PTSB will now lower their disgraceful SVR to the same amount as the other state owned bank AIB.. this bank has got some amount of help from the government its the least they could do for us…
It’s a nice thought, but in reality PTSB don’t give a flying f€ck about the mortgage customers being screwed on their SVR and neither do the government.
I’d love to be proven wrong on this but I won’t be holding my breath and I say that as one of those customers.
So will the Government do the same for me? Take my debts, leave me with my assets and money and I can live happy ever after?
How worst off could we be if we just left these banks which are no different than any business, go under?
Move the trackers to IBRC or the “formerly known as Anglo” bank .. The same bank FG said they’d disband if we voted them in. Will they reduce the SVR now as it was kept high to pay for the costly trackers. Will it be trackers which are 0.5% -1% above ECB rate and still performing or just those in arrears? Either way the taxpayer is straddled with the burden while the bank can massage its books to look profitable.
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