Monaster Block

The Monaster Block comprises six contiguous prospecting licences (PLs) in County Limerick, Ireland. The licence block is located in a highly prospective area for base metal mineralisation and is 5km from the Tobermalug and Caherconlish zinc discoveries at Pallas Green that are currently being evaluated by Xstrata/Minco.

A large portion of the Monaster Block is underlain by Waulsortian Limestone which is in turn overlain by SupraWaulsortian limestones and volcanic rocks. The Waulsortian Limestone is host to a number large base metal deposits in Ireland including the Lisheen and Galmoy zinc mines located approximately 60km to the Northeast.

Teck Cominco commenced drilling on the Monaster licence block in May 2007 and completed a 5-hole (2414m) programme by the end of the year. Drill targets were defined using a combination of soil geochemical, geophysical and geological data.

The fourth drillhole in the programme (TC-2638-4) was located on the Stonepark prospect (on PL 2638) and intersected significant base metal mineralisation from 372.75 to 380.10m depth. The mineralisation consists of massive, veinlet, and disseminated sphalerite, galena and pyrite and is hosted in a thick zone of brecciated Waulsortian limestone.

Monaster Block Map

Drilling resumed at Stonepark in 2008 and a recent drill hole, TC-2638-7, intersected 15.35 metres of mineralised breccia containing clasts of pyrite-sphalerite-galena. The upper 2.85 metres of the breccia contains 12.18% zinc and 0.75% lead and the entire 15.35 metre breccia zone has an average grade of 3.25% zinc and 0.33% lead. TC-2638-7 was an angled drill hole inclined at -76 degrees and was designed to test the ore zone approximately 100 metres from the ore zone in TC-2638-4. Drill results are shown below;

Hole ID	Hole Angle (degrees)	From (m)	To (m)	Thickness (m)	Estimated True Thickness (m)	Zn(%)	Pb(%)
TC-2638-4	-90	372.75	374.05	1.30	1.30	6.85	0.3
TC-2638-4	-90	374.05	376.1	2.05	2.05	0.3	<0.05
TC-2638-4	-90	376.1	380.1	4.00	4.00	11.62	3.46
		Including:
TC-2638-4	-90	378.95	380.1	1.15		28.61	4.16
TC-2638-7	-76	394.85	410.2	15.35	14.9	3.25	0.33
		Including:
TC-2638-7	-76	394.85	397.7	2.85	2.8	12.18	0.75

The high grade zinc / lead mineralisation and thick, well developed hydrothermal breccias intersected in holes 4 and 7 at Stonepark are suggestive of the presence of a large base metal mineralising system and drilling is ongoing with two drill rigs onsite. A number of additional geophysical surveys were also completed in early 2008 at Stonepark, and on a number of other prospects on the Monaster licence block, and these targets will also be drill tested in the second half of the year.

The Stonepark prospect is located approximately 5km from the Tobermalug zone at Pallas Green. Highlights of the 2007-2008 Xstrata/Minco drilling programme at Tobermalug include;

Drill hole MN-2529-26 which intersected an 8.4 metre interval (from 388.2 metres to 96.6 metres) averaging 30.53% zinc and 5.33% lead;
Drill hole MN-2529-028 which intersected a 16.85 metre interval (380.3 metres to 397.15 metres) averaging 14.93% zinc and 2.57% lead.

Published figures by Minco estimate that the Tobermalug zone has the “potential” to host 6.5 million tonnes averaging 8.6% zinc and 1.23% lead and the nearby Caherconlish South and Srahane West have potential to jointly host an additional 1.0 to 1.4 million tonnes averaging 11.0 to 11.5 percent zinc and 1.4 to 1.6 percent lead. These estimates are not JORC-compliant but none-the-less suggest the presence of a large base-metal mineralising system in the Limerick area.

Drilling is ongoing at Stonepark with two drill rigs currently on-site. A number of geophysical surveys have also been completed at Stonepark, and on a number of other prospects on the Monaster licence block, in early 2008 and these targets will also be drill tested in the second half of the year.

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