Newly discovered deposits of zinc, lead and silver will extend the life of the Galmoy mine in Kilkenny into the next decade, according to the mine's owner, Arcon Resources.
The new deposit, which is estimated to contain 400,000 tonnes of zinc, 160,000 tonnes of lead and 4.7 million ounces of silver, was discovered in the mine's R-zone as part of an ongoing programme of exploratory mining at Galmoy.
"This resource doubles the mine's contained metal content and will extend the mine's life into the next decade," said Mr Kevin Ross, Arcon's chief executive.
The orebody contains two million tonnes at 20.6 per cent zinc, 8.1 per cent lead and 75 grammes per tonne silver.
At current prices, the gross value of the metal is estimated at $400 million (€363.7 million).
The company intends to access this new resource as soon as possible so that it can generate increased cash flow, according to Mr Ross.
With world zinc prices currently depressed, the loss-making company hopes that the new resource will enable it to take advantage of any upturn in prices.
"The early access to the R-zone will reduce our cash production costs and put us in a very strong position with the next expected upturn in the zinc price cycle," he said.
The new zone is 125 metres to the southeast of the CW south orebody, which is currently being mined.
A 550-metre drive from this zone will begin immediately and is expected to reach the R-zone by the third or fourth quarter of this year.
When production, smelting and other costs are taken into account, the company can expect to realise 30-40 per cent of the total value of the metal, or between €120 million and €160 million.
Mr Ross is optimistic that the extraction of this metal will bring Arcon into profitability from the second half of this year. The company's shares were unchanged at 2.6 cents.
