Half-yearly Report
25 February 2010
Conroy Diamonds and Gold P.l.c.
("the Company")
Half-yearly results for the six months ended 30 November 2009
GOOD PROGRESS ON SEVERAL FRONTS
Conroy Diamonds and Gold Plc (AIM: CDG), the gold exploration and development
company primarily focused on Ireland, announces its results for the six months
ended November 30, 2009.
Highlights:
* Clay Lake sampling returns highest gold-in-soil values recorded by Company
on its Irish exploration licences
* Follow-up chip sampling in stream bed identifies 18m wide zone of gold
mineralisation
* Large, coherent zinc-in-soil anomaly outlined to south-east of Clontibret
* Company raised €830,071 by share placings
* Retained loss for the year €183,126 (2008: loss €202,464)
Post Period
* Wardrop Engineering appointed to undertake Clontibret scoping study
* First drilling at Clay Lake returns good results, including 63m grading
0.62g/t gold
* Company lists on Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX)
Professor Richard Conroy, Chairman, commented:
"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. 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."
Chairman's Statement
I am pleased to report on the activities of your Company for the six months
ended 30 November 2009, a period during which the gold price improved steadily,
before reaching a new peak of over US$1,200/oz at the beginning of December
2009. Base metal prices also showed a welcome recovery in the period under
review.
In terms of the wider stock market, the FTSE Index of AIM shares improved by
over 50 per cent. from the lows reached in the first quarter of the year. Your
Company's shares participated in this price recovery and we were able in the
period to add to our cash resources through share subscriptions and placings.
Clontibret
Work programmes on our Irish exploration licences have continued to return very
good results and, in the case of Clontibret, we have now moved beyond the
exploration stage with the recent appointment of Wardrop Engineering to carry
out a scoping study. This will determine if the current JORC-compliant resource
of just over 1 million ounces of gold can support a profitable mining
operation.
Whilst this study will primarily be related to Clontibret, it will also
consider the possible implications presented by our other nearby gold
discoveries at Clay Lake and Glenish.
Wardrop is a multi-disciplined engineering and consultancy firm that has been
working in the global mining industry since the early 1960s and is at the
forefront of gold mining expertise.
Clay Lake
During the period we have determined that the Clay Lake gold-in-soil anomaly,
which we first announced in February 2009, is much larger and more coherent
that the Clontibret target, 7km to the south-west. It has returned the highest
gold-in-soil sample values (up to 1.53 gramme/tonne) recorded by the Company on
its Irish licences, averaging twice those reported at Clontibret.
Chip sampling of rock exposed in stream beds in the northern corner of the soil
anomaly returned positive results, and identified an 18m wide mineralised zone
averaging 0.47 gramme/tonne gold, with individual samples assaying up to 1.69
gramme/tonne. Furthermore, the extent of this mineralised zone was not fully
established as further chip sampling along trend was precluded by soil cover.
After analysis and interpretation of all the sampling data, we brought in a rig
at the end of 2009 and completed two inclined diamond drill holes located
approximately 450m away from the stream bed sampling. Given that exploration at
Clay Lake is still at a very early stage, the recently announced drilling
results are, in the Board's opinion, outstanding. They confirm the presence of
a broad zone of gold mineralisation, with one hole returning an impressive 63m
intersection grading 0.62 gramme/tonne gold from rocks similar to those exposed
in the stream bed.
The drilling also showed that the mineralisation continues to a vertical depth
of at least 110m and extends for several hundred metres along trend from the
stream bed mineralisation. We are confident that much more will be revealed as
exploration progresses on this exciting find.
Zinc Discovery
Our discovery of a very large zinc-in-soil anomaly to the south-east of
Clontibret has added a new dimension to our activities in this area which
features a number of historic, near-surface lead and zinc orebodies that
supported small-scale production in the 19th century.
Infill sampling at this discovery to the south-east of Clontibret has resulted
in three previously identified separate zinc-in-soil anomalies merging into one
large, coherent anomaly covering an area of over 8km2. The samples returned an
average zinc value of 466 parts per million ("ppm"), with a peak value of
4,047ppm, many times the area's typical background zinc-in-soil values of less
than 200ppm. We believe that this anomaly is further evidence of the presence
of a large, zoned metalliferous system in the area.
Outlook
Your Company is now moving into an exciting new phase of its development as the
Clontibret scoping study gets underway. At the same time, we believe that our
work at Clay Lake, though still at an early stage, indicates that this
discovery could be of equal or even greater magnitude than Clontibret. The new
zinc discovery to the south-east of Clontibret adds a new dimension to the
area.
Although your Company cannot ignore the possibility that it has made a
significant zinc discovery, our prime focus remains on the delineation and
development of our gold projects within the 50km long trend we have identified
on our Irish licences. We remain confident of achieving further success over
the coming months.
Corporate
In December 2009, the shares of your Company were listed on the Irish
Enterprise Exchange (IEX). We believe that this move will facilitate dealings
for investors in Ireland and elsewhere who normally trade shares in Euro.
Finance
The results for the six months ended 30 November 2009 are set out below. The
loss for the period was €183,126 (2008: loss €202,464).
During the period under review your Company raised €830,071, net of expenses,
from investors by way of share placings, and I converted €325,000 of my loans
to the Company into shares.
Your Board is considering various options to finance the next phase of the
Company's activities.
Directors and Staff
I would like to thank my fellow directors, staff and consultants for their
support and dedication, which has enabled the continued success of the Company.
I look forward to the future with confidence.
Professor Richard Conroy
Chairman
Further enquiries:
Conroy Diamonds and Gold Plc Tel: 00 353 1 661 8958
Professor Richard Conroy
Merchant John East Securities Limited (Nomad) Tel: 020 7628 2200
Simon Clements / Virginia Bull
IBI Corporate Finance Limited (IEX Adviser) Tel: 00 353 1 637 7800
John Tuite
City Capital Corporation Limited Tel: 020 3178 3399
Charles Dampney
Lothbury Financial Limited Tel: 020 7011 9411
Ron Marshman / Michael Padley
Hall Communications Tel: 00 353 1 660 9377
Don Hall
UNAUDITED INCOME STATEMENT
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 NOVEMBER 2009
Six months Six months Year
ended ended ended
30 November 30 November 31 May
2009 2008 2009
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
€ € €
OPERATING EXPENSES (183,142) (202,478) (298,155)
Other Income 16 14 36
LOSS BEFORE TAXATION (183,126) (202,464) (298,119)
Taxation - - -
LOSS RETAINED FOR THE PERIOD (183,126) (202,464) (298,119)
Loss per ordinary share - Basic and (0.0015) (0.0019) (0.0028)
diluted
UNAUDITED BALANCE SHEET
AS AT 30 NOVEMBER 2009
30 November 30 November 31 May
2009 2008 2009
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
€ € €
Non-current Assets
Intangible assets 9,166,965 8,297,538 8,736,915
Financial assets 2 2 2
Property, plant and equipment 19,515 26,921 24,791
9,186,482 8,324,461 8,761,708
Current Assets
Trade and other receivables 32,933 44,110 24,982
Cash and cash equivalents 413,419 90,676 61,744
446,352 134,786 86,726
Total Assets 9,632,834 8,459,247 8,848,434
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Capital and Reserves
Called up share capital 4,285,935 3,170,649 3,170,649
Share premium 5,530,823 5,491,037 5,491,037
Capital conversion reserve fund 30,617 30,617 30,617
Share based payments reserve 508,143 359,117 433,630
Retained losses (3,149,156) (2,870,375) (2,966,030)
Total Equity 7,206,362 6,181,045 6,159,903
Non-current Liabilities
Trade and other payables: Amounts 1,567,701 1,831,111 1,928,473
falling
due after more than one year
Total non-current liabilities 1,567,701 1,831,111 1,928,473
Current Liabilities
Trade and other payables: Amounts 858,771 447,091 760,058
falling
due within one year
Total Current Liabilities 858,771 447,091 760,058
Total Liabilities 2,426,472 2,278,202 2,688,531
Total Equity and Liabilities 9,632,834 8,459,247 8,848,434
UNAUDITED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 NOVEMBER 2009
30 November 30 November 31 May
2009 2008 2009
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
€ € €
Cash (used by)/generated by operations (12,574) (18,768) 155,856
Tax paid - - -
Net cash (used in)/generated by operating (12,574) (18,768) 155,856
activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Investment in mineral interest (430,050) (407,053) (786,164)
Payments to acquire property, plant and - (2,098) (5,409)
equipment
Net cash used in investing activities (430,050) (409,151) (791,573)
Cash flows from financing activities
Issue of share capital, net 830,071 - -
Shareholders loan (repayments)/advances (35,772) 409,163 588,029
Net cash from financing activities 794,299 409,163 588,029
Increase/(Decrease) in cash and cash 351,675 (18,756) (47,688)
equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of 61,744 109,432 109,432
period
Cash and cash equivalents at end of 413,419 90,676 61,744
period
Notes to the Financial Statements
1. Publication of non-statutory accounts
The financial information set out in this document does not comprise the
statutory accounts of the Company.
2. Loss per share
The calculation of the loss per ordinary share of €0.0015 (2008: loss €0.0019)
is based on the loss for the half year of €183,126 (2008: loss €202,464) and
the weighted average number of ordinary shares on a basic and fully diluted
basis during the period of 121,254,414 (2008: 105,688,297). Share options and
warrants are not included in the calculation of fully diluted shares since the
Company incurred a loss in both periods which results in these potential shares
being anti-dilutive.
3. Dividends
No dividends were paid or are proposed in respect of the period ended 30
November 2009.
4. A copy of the half-yearly report will be available on the Company's website
www.conroydiamondsandgold.com and will be available from the Company's
registered office, 10 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin 2. It will also be
forwarded to shareholders who requested a hard copy.
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