18 January 2010
Conroy Diamonds and Gold P.l.c.
("Conroy" or "the Company")
Successful result from first drill holes at Clay Lake gold target
* 63 metres of 0.62 grammes per tonne ("g/t") gold and 1g/t silver, including
9 metres of 1.48g/t gold and 1g/t silver
* 310 metres drilled in north-western corner of 141 hectare soil anomaly
* Wide zone of mineralisation and quartz stockwork intersected
* Potentially larger than the Clontibret gold discovery
Conroy (AIM: CDG; IEX: CDG.I) is pleased to announce that it has completed two
inclined diamond drill holes, totalling 310 metre, in the north-western corner
of its Clay Lake gold anomaly in Co. Armagh which returned positive gold
results and demonstrated the presence of a broad zone of mineralisation.
The Clay Lake anomaly covers an area of approximately 141 hectares ("ha") and
has returned the highest gold-in-soil values ever recorded by the Company on
its Irish exploration licences. It is larger than the Clontibret anomaly
(125ha), 7km to the south-west in Co. Monaghan, where the Company has
established a JORC-compliant gold resource of over one million ounces.
One of the drill holes at Clay Lake was 157 metres long and reached a vertical
depth of approximately 110 metres. It intersected 3 metres of 1.57g/t gold from
22.5 metres, followed by a 63 metres intersection of 0.62g/t gold and 1g/t
silver from 90.5 metres, the first 9 metres of which averaged 1.48g/t gold and
1g/t silver. Arenites and argillites (shales) were the main lithologies in this
hole.
The 63 metres zone of mineralisation in this hole occurred in a sequence of
argillites with quartz stockwork. The highest gold value over a single metre
was 3.07g/t, and the lowest was 0.15g/t.
The intersection also carried elevated silver values of up to 2.5g/t. This is
significant in its own right and also enhances the Company's understanding of
the Clay Lake target and how it differs from the other major targets the
Company has discovered on its licences. It also indicates that the gold at Clay
Lake has different characteristics to that found in the Clontibret deposit.
The other hole, 153 metres long which also reached a vertical depth of
approximately 110 metres, intersected 8 metres of 0.93g/t gold from 34 metres,
including 3 metres of 2.13g/t from 35 metres. This was followed by 2 metres of
0.77g/t gold from 98.7 metres. The main lithology in this hole was arenites
(sandstones).
Last November, the Company announced that it had identified an 18 metres wide
zone of gold mineralisation with elevated silver values following rock chip
sampling in a stream bed at Clay Lake. This zone is similar to and in the same
lithology as the 63 metres intersection mentioned above and is located some 450
metres away from the two drill holes.
This release has been approved by Kevin McNulty PGeo, who is a member of the
Company's technical staff, who holds a BSc/MSc in Geology and Remote Sensing,
in accordance with the guidance note for Mining, Oil & Gas Companies issued by
the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM Companies, which outlines standards
of disclosure for mineral projects.
Commenting today, Chairman, Professor Richard Conroy said:
"I am very pleased that the first drill holes at Clay Lake have returned such
positive results from a location some distance along strike from the zone of
gold mineralisation we identified in a stream bed late last year. The drill
intersections indicate that the mineralisation continues both at depth and for
several hundred metres along strike from the stream bed zone and remains open
in all directions.
"We have, however, done little more than scratch the surface of just a small
part of this very large target, which extends over an area of more than 1.4
million square metres, yet the results achieved at such an early stage, we
believe, are quite outstanding and encourage us that much more is yet to be
revealed.
"In addition, relative to Clontibret, the Clay Lake target is much larger and
has returned significantly higher gold-in-soil sample values."
Enquiries:
Conroy Diamonds and Gold Plc
Professor Richard Conroy, Chairman +353 1 661 8958
City Capital Corporation Limited
(Broker)
Charles Dampney +44 20 3178 3399
Merchant John East Securities Limited (Nomad)
Simon Clements/Virginia Bull +44 20 7628 2200
IBI Corporate Finance Limited
John Tuite +353 1 637 7800
Lothbury Financial
Ron Marshman/Michael Padley +44 20 7011 9411
Hall Communications
Don Hall +353 1 660 9377
Further details on Conroy Diamonds and Gold can be found on its website at:
www.conroydiamondsandgold.com
Conroy Share Price
END
CONROY DIAMONDS & GOLD PLC
