Irish mining company Conroy Gold has been granted nine exploration licencesin the Sodankyla region of northern Finland.

The company said Sodankyla has become a highly prospective region for gold and copper exploration, hosting both the world class Kittila gold mine and the Kevitsa nickel-copper mine.

“Previous exploration by Conroy in the Sodankyla area yielded encouraging gold results,” the company said in a statement.

The nine exploration claims which have been granted together cover an area of 789 hectares (approximately 1,950 acres).

Conroy Gold chairman Richard Conroy said the exploration programme in Finland will add to the company’s successful gold and base metal exploration in Ireland.

“Ireland continues to be the company’s primary focus where we havdiscovered a thirty mile gold trend and are currently proposing to develop our first gold mine along the trend.”