Post by earl on Jul 1, 2008 16:48:25 GMT
Prospectors have discovered what they believe to be the biggest ever untapped gold mine in Britain or Ireland outside a small village, it was announced today.
With the price of the precious metal surging in the present economic uncertainties, the exploration company says the deposits could be worth as much as 570 million euro (£450 million).
Conroy Diamonds and Gold, the company behind the discovery, has issued a formal announcement to the London Stock Exchange that the area outside Clontibret, Co Monaghan, close to the Irish border, has more than one million ounces of gold.
Company chairman Professor Richard Conroy said: "There's never been a gold mine anywhere near this size in Ireland and the UK."
The declaration is expected to attract interest from major international players in the gold mining industry and raise hopes in the historically deprived border region of a modern-day gold rush that could restore its fortunes.
The rising price of gold in recent years - presently around 570 euro (£450) an ounce - has already seen Scotland's Cononish mine, near the village of Tyndrum, reopen after having lain dormant for years.
Conroy Diamonds and Gold said the gold deposits in the rural, rolling hills of Co Monaghan, just miles from the once conflict-ridden south Armagh in Northern Ireland, are at least four times the amount as in the Scottish mine.
The company is now starting a feasibility study for the economic viability of mining the gold which it says could begin within two to three years' time.
"We have gone to the stage where we know there is a lot of gold in the area, we still have to go through the stage of determining how economic it is going to be to mine it," said Prof Conroy.
"There's a lot of work still to be done."
Drilling is continuing in the area, not far from Derrynoose, Co Armagh, where there used to be lead mines, and has extended beyond an original target area of one-fifth of the overall exploration site.
It is believed that further excavation will again increase the existing indicated resources of 440,000 ounces and additional inferred resource of 590,000 tonnes, as estimated using international compliance standards by independent mining consultants G Zandonai.
Although the grade of the gold in Co Monaghan is relatively low by world standards, the sheer size of the find and the surging prices of the precious metal mean it could still be hugely profitable.
Costs of building and running the mine are estimated at around two-thirds of the value of the unexploited resources which, at present prices, could see a return of 190 million euro (£150 million).
"The technical people still have a lot of work to do, and until they have completed their work and the feasibility study is done you can't be sure of the economics," said Prof Conroy.
"Obviously, if there was a big fall in the price of gold it just wouldn't pay. There are a lot of questions still unanswered."
With the price of the precious metal surging in the present economic uncertainties, the exploration company says the deposits could be worth as much as 570 million euro (£450 million).
Conroy Diamonds and Gold, the company behind the discovery, has issued a formal announcement to the London Stock Exchange that the area outside Clontibret, Co Monaghan, close to the Irish border, has more than one million ounces of gold.
Company chairman Professor Richard Conroy said: "There's never been a gold mine anywhere near this size in Ireland and the UK."
The declaration is expected to attract interest from major international players in the gold mining industry and raise hopes in the historically deprived border region of a modern-day gold rush that could restore its fortunes.
The rising price of gold in recent years - presently around 570 euro (£450) an ounce - has already seen Scotland's Cononish mine, near the village of Tyndrum, reopen after having lain dormant for years.
Conroy Diamonds and Gold said the gold deposits in the rural, rolling hills of Co Monaghan, just miles from the once conflict-ridden south Armagh in Northern Ireland, are at least four times the amount as in the Scottish mine.
The company is now starting a feasibility study for the economic viability of mining the gold which it says could begin within two to three years' time.
"We have gone to the stage where we know there is a lot of gold in the area, we still have to go through the stage of determining how economic it is going to be to mine it," said Prof Conroy.
"There's a lot of work still to be done."
Drilling is continuing in the area, not far from Derrynoose, Co Armagh, where there used to be lead mines, and has extended beyond an original target area of one-fifth of the overall exploration site.
It is believed that further excavation will again increase the existing indicated resources of 440,000 ounces and additional inferred resource of 590,000 tonnes, as estimated using international compliance standards by independent mining consultants G Zandonai.
Although the grade of the gold in Co Monaghan is relatively low by world standards, the sheer size of the find and the surging prices of the precious metal mean it could still be hugely profitable.
Costs of building and running the mine are estimated at around two-thirds of the value of the unexploited resources which, at present prices, could see a return of 190 million euro (£150 million).
"The technical people still have a lot of work to do, and until they have completed their work and the feasibility study is done you can't be sure of the economics," said Prof Conroy.
"Obviously, if there was a big fall in the price of gold it just wouldn't pay. There are a lot of questions still unanswered."