Prospecting in Meath/Cavan reveals trace mineralisation

Oldcastle Zinc Ltd, a subsidiary of Canadian mining company Teck Resources, recently sought the renewal of a prospecting licence for the local area. The company has held the licence for six years and, during that time, had conducted a number of non-invasive explorations.

In a statement from the company, they say that “trace mineralisation has been intersected” in the latest drill hole within the Oldcastle Block located on the Meath/Cavan border. The Oldcastle block of five licences is being explored by Teck Ireland Ltd (Teck) under an option agreement with Connemara.

The drill hole helps in establishing directions for future drilling. The company said: “Teck continues to advance the Oldcastle ground as part of their North Midlands zinc exploration programme where the target is a Navan style zinc/lead orebody.”

A prospecting licence is a permit, issued by the State, which allows the holder to prospect for minerals and typically covers an area of 35 km. It is issued by the Exploration and Mining Division of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment,.

The prospecting licences are issued for a period of six years for specified minerals and can be renewed. A minimum expenditure per licence is required. The licence is only entitled to prospect for minerals. It a criminal offence to extract commercial quantities of minerals without a mining lease or licence.

There are two operating mines in Ireland: Navan (zinc-lead) and Drummond (gypsum). The underground zinc-lead mines at Lisheen, Tipperary and Galmoy, Kilkenny ceased production in December 2015 and October 2012 respectively.