Conroy Diamonds and Gold has cheered long-suffering investors with its first industry-standard, JORC-compliant resource in Ireland.

Chaired by mellifluous Irish mining veteran and former member of both the Irish Senate and Dail Professor Richard Conroy, the Dublin-based AIM counter said exploration in the ‘Longford-Down Massif’, spanning the Irish border, has at last revealed indicated resources of 64,000 ounces of gold at Clontibret in County Monaghan at a low grade of 1.4 grams of gold per tonne of ore. According to the company, international mining consultant CSA estimates the less certain inferred resource at Clontibret could range from 500,000 ounces of contained gold at 1.34 grams a tonne to one million ounces at 0.5 grams a tonne.

Richard Conroy pointed out that these estimates reflect close drilling results from only 20 per cent of the target anomaly identified at Clontibret, which is itself only part of the company’s wider exploration area. ‘If repeated in the remainder of the target,’ he argued, ‘they would suggest the deposit is much larger than originally anticipated.’

Conroy added: ‘These resource estimates will enable the group to tap financing sources to develop the project without hitting the market with another share placing. The shares, long-term dogs since flotation at 25p in 2000, have perked up 0.63p today to 4.63p and could rally further if new estimates expand the resource significantly.