13 Nov 2015 07:00
MINCO GRANTED THREE NEW PROSPECTING LICENCES IN IRELAND
● Moate Exploration Project for "Tynagh-Type" Target
Dublin, 13 November, 2015- Minco Plc (AIM-"MIO") ("Minco" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has been granted three new Prospecting Licences in Ireland by the Minister of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
The new licences, PLs 1228, 1229 and 3981, at Moate in County Westmeath, Ireland, are centered on a specific geological target identified by Minco, with potential for zinc-lead mineralization of Tynagh Mine type. Each licence will be valid for a period of six years from 3 November 2015.
Minco's new Moate licences are located along the northwestern margin of the Irish Midland Orefield on the "Tynagh-Ballinalack Trend". All but one of the major Irish zinc-lead deposits of the Irish Midland Orefield lie along the margins of the Orefield.
The Tynagh Mine operated successfully from 1965 to 1981 producing 9,000,000 tonnes of ore, from both open pit and underground, at average grades of approximately 7% lead, 5.5% zinc, 0.5% copper and 2.6 ounces of silver per tonne.
"Tynagh-Type" Target at Moate
The Moate target lies mid-way between the former Tynagh Mine, located 50 kilometres to the southwest, and the similar styled Ballinalack deposit, situated 35 kilometres to the northeast.
Minco's studies of previous drilling have outlined a geological setting that Minco believes mirrors that at the former Tynagh Mine, where zinc-lead mineralization was hosted by breccias developed at the margin between the reef and off-reef limestone facies. The geology at Moate is also comparable to that at the smaller Ballinalack deposit.
The Tynagh Mine and the Ballinalack deposit lie along a major, northeast striking basement trend, the "Tynagh-Ballinalack Trend", comparable to the Lisheen Trend, which underlies the Lisheen and Galmoy Mines in Tipperary and Kilkenny, and comparable to the Pallas Green Trend which hosts the Pallas Green deposits discovered by Minco in 2007.
"This is a very specific geological target which Minco has developed and we have been waiting patiently for these licences to come open for some years", said Peter Tyler, Minco's Chief Geologist.
"We believe Moate is the only remaining untested target of its kind in Ireland. The target has been outlined by past drilling, but remains unexplored as previous exploration focused on the Moyvoughly (Navan) Beds, host to the Boliden Tara Mines deposit at Navan, and not on reef hosted mineralization of the Tynagh Type", added Peter Tyler.
Minco has planned an initial exploration programme consisting of six inclined drill holes for a total of 1400 metres of drilling.
Geological structure
A reef equivalent basin associated with a major east northeast fault structure has been outlined that mirrors the geological setting at the Tynagh Mine. A ten kilometer long target, at a depth of 150 to 200 meters below surface, has been outlined, with potential for reef hosted zinc-lead mineralization of Tynagh-type in the immediate hanging wall of the Moyvoughly Fault. This has never been explored.
Past exploration at Moate
The Moate area has seen intermittent exploration over the past fifty years following discovery in 1968 of the Moyvoughly deposit (125,000 tonnes averaging 8% zinc plus lead) located immediately to the east of Minco's new licenses.
The small Moyvoughly deposit is hosted within the Moyvoughly Beds, at the base of the succession, equivalent to the Navan Beds which host the Tara deposit. Similar, but less coherent, mineralization was discovered at the same horizon to the west at Moynure in County Roscommon in the 1970's.
Exploration at Moate in the past, which includes nine kilometres of diamond drilling, has focused almost exclusively on the potential for Navan-type mineralization within the Moyvoughly Beds, initially at shallow depths in the footwall of the major (300 metre throw) Moyvoughly Fault and later to depths of 600 metres below surface in the hanging wall.
The potential for reef hosted zinc-lead mineralization of "Tynagh-type" at Moate has never been explored.
ABOUT MINCO PLC
Minco Plc, incorporated in the Republic of Ireland and listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange ("MIO"), is an exploration and development company currently engaged in zinc-lead exploration in Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and is also evaluating its Woodstock manganese project in New Brunswick, Canada.
Minco also holds an approximate 26% shareholding in Xtierra Inc, (TSXV- "XAG"), which holds mineral properties in Mexico, and a 2% NSR royalty on the Curraghinalt gold property in Northern Ireland, currently being explored by Dalradian Resources Inc. (TSX-"DNA").
Danesh Varma: CFO & Company Secretary +44 (0) 8452 606 034
Peter McParland: Director - Ireland +353 (0) 46 907 3709
Peter Tyler: Chief Geologist - Ireland and UK +44 (0) 78 5432 3056
Warren MacLeod: Director, President Buchans Minerals +1 709 725 0555
John Frain: Davy (NOMAD) +353 (0)1 6796363
Saif Janjua: (Corporate Advisor) (Broker, Beaufort Securities) +44 (0) 20 7382 8415