MULTINATIONAL Xstrata and Irish company Minco are set to spend €7 million this year on developing a potential zinc find in Ireland.
The companies own the rights to a zinc deposit at Tobermalug, Pallas Green, Co Limerick, which has already been established as holding over 11 tonnes of zinc and lead, and which could stretch to much more than that.
Minco announced this morning that it has agreed to spend $10 million (€7 million) on a further exploration programme, which will be aimed at increasing proved reserves in the deposit to 15 million tonnes.
“This planned 2010 programme will include about 70,000 tonnes of diamond drilling in about 150 drill holes allocated within and adjacent to the Tobermalug zinc-lead deposit, and on further exploration drilling in the general Caherconlish area within a 3.5km radius of Tobermalug,” the company said.
Minco said the programme agreed between it and Xstrata Zinc, the Irish subsidiary of Xstrata, will have three key objectives: to increase the tonnage and grade of the existing deposit, to explore for lateral extensions of the deposit and to explore additional ore deposits in the Caherconlish area.
Along with Tobermalug, their work to date has identified zinc and lead at nearby Caherconlish South and Srahane west.
Minco says the three deposits could potentially contain more and higher grades of zinc and lead.
According to Xstrata, which announced the plans yesterday, only around 30 per cent of the potential resource has yet been explored. Tobermalug is one of the biggest onshore exploration programmes undertaken in Ireland in the last 50 years. The partners spent over €2 million on the project last year.
Minco holds 23.6 per cent of the licence while Xstrata owns 76.4 per cent. The entire deposit covers an 11sq km area spanning northeast Limerick and southwest Tipperary.
The Irish company recently raised £1 million from shareholders via a placing on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Minco has interests in Ireland and Mexico, and has offices here and in Canada.
Xstrata is a Swiss-based multinational mining and commodities group.
