Conroy Diamonds posts loss

Exploration company Conroy Diamonds and Gold posted a retained loss of €183,126 in the six months to November 30th, 2009, but made progress in several areas, the company said today.

At its Clontibret operation, the company said it had moved beyond the exploration stage and appointed Wardrop Engineering to carry out a scoping study, which will help determine if the current gold resource can support a profitable operation. The study will also consider the implications presented by nearby gold discoveries at Clay Lake in Co Armagh and Glenish.

The firm said its sampling on Clay Lake had returned the highest gold-in-soil values recorded on its Irish exploration licences.

"We are now moving beyond the exploration phase at Clontibret and Wardrop Engineering has commenced a scoping study to determine if the current JORC-compliant resource of just over one million ounces of gold can support a profitable mining operation," said Conroy's chairman Professor Richard Conroy.

" We are also making excellent progress at Clay Lake, with impressive first drilling results, whilst the discovery of a very large zinc-in-soil anomaly south-east of Clontibret brings a new dimension to our activities in this area.

"However, our prime focus remains the delineation and development of our gold projects with the 30 mile long gold trend we have identified."

During the six-month period, the firm raised €830,071, net of expenses, from investors through share placings.