Junior Zinc Explorers Breathing New Life In Ireland's Mining Industry
(Kitco News)- Althoughzinc prices have dropped from their recent five-year highs, the market dynamicsare not expected to shift anytime soon and with little new production on thehorizon, the focus is returning to Ireland, a leading jurisdiction in thebase-metals space.
Despitebeing one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world, Ireland has not been amajor focal point in the mining sector, until now. A new breed of juniorexplorers is active on the island as they say there is still plenty of zincmineral potential as technology brings new opportunities.
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| Photo courtesy of Boliden: Tara is the last operating zinc mine in Ireland |
JohnKearney, chairman and CEO of the private mining company Buchan Resource has along history of zinc mining in Ireland. He part of a group of Canadian who wentto Ireland in the 1960 and are credited with finding the first mines in thecountry in 100 years. Europe’s largest zinc mine Boliden Tara continues tooperate after 41 years and producing more than 85 million tonnes of zinc.
Kearney’snew company is expected to go public in mid-2018 as a new breed of juniorexplorers that are breath’s new life into the country and the sector.
“In thelast two years we have seen a major influx of junior companies into thecountry,” he said. “These companies are bringing new ideas, new technology andexcitement to the sector.”
Group Eleven Resourcesis one of the new Canadian-listed junior explorers looking for the next depositin Ireland. G11 went public in late 2017, but as a private company, it managedto raise $12 million, including $5m on its IPO.
Bart Jaworski, CEO of G11Resources, said that he is excited to be in the zinc space. Although the markethas lost some of its excitement since the start of the year when prices were ata multi-year high, he said he doesn’t see any significant shift in the supplyand demand outlook to damage the market’s current uptrend.
“There has not been alot of exploration dollars put into the ground for zinc exploration and Irelandis a great example. The country went from having three zinc mines to now onlyone and it only has about five years of mine life left according to itspublished reserve numbers,” he said. “If that is a reflection of what ishappening worldwide, then that is fairly bullish for the zinc market.”
Not only is the marketseeing falling supply, but Jaworski said that he expects demand to continue togrow. Although the ongoing threat of a global trade war is weighing onsentiment, he noted that global growth remains strong and will continue tosupport base metal prices.
“We have passed theworst of the bear market even as the market has cooled off a little bit,” hesaid.
G11 is currently workingto develop its two flagship properties, Ballinalack and Stonepark. Jaworski addedthat not only is G11 focused on expanding its resources, but it is also lookingat rewriting Ireland’s geology.
Jaworski said that, forexample, there is some evidence that the geology is similar to depositsdiscovered in Mexico.
“While we have someshort-term goals, long-term is about generating exciting new ideas on whatcould be happening in the country and where that could lead in drill targetgeneration in the future,” he said.
MichaelHudson, director and chairman of Hanna Metals also said that this is anexciting time for junior explorers in Ireland because land, which over the yearshas been tightly controlled by major zinc producers, is finally starting to beavailable for exploration.
“Themajors are starting to step back, so Ireland is becoming a hotspot of activityfor explorers. Juniors now have a foothold on the island for the first time inmany years,” he said.
Thecompany is currently developing two properties, its Clare project andKilbricken project.
He addedthat the key for junior miners is to embrace innovative ideas like seismictesting, which allows companies to delve deeper under the surface.
“Thefirst 200 meters of Ireland have been thoroughly explored over the years, butwe don’t know what is under that and that is where we see potential,” he said.“Seismic testing is going to unravel the potential within Ireland.”
Not onlydoes Ireland have a rich history of zinc projection but Hudson said that beinga developed country, it has the infrastructure and the rule of law that aresupportive of mining. On the government side, Hudson noted that the state has a“can-do” attitude.
In 2017,according to the Fraser Institute Ireland, for the fifth year in a row Irelandhad the highest score in the study’s Policy Perception Index, which measuresthe effects of government policy on attitudes toward exploration investment.
In totalIreland was ranked fourth in 2017 as one of the world’s top miningjurisdictions.
Hudson added that thecountry’s developed infrastructure means ultimately lower a mining company’scapital expenditures and leads to a faster return on investment.
By Neils ChristensenFor Kitco News
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nchristensen@kitco.comwww.kitco.com Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.