Conroy said the intersection from a drill hole in the north-eastern end of the target extended for 150.5m at 0.3g/t gold from a depth of 108.5m, which was "strong evidence" of a large gold mineralising system in the area.

The results included 52.5m at 0.5g/t Au from 108.5m and 18m at 0.6g/t Au from 240m, including 2m at 2.7g/t Au from 252m, which the company said was the deepest intersection to date at the target.

Conroy also intersected silver at 28.8m at 0.9g/t Ag from 112.5m, which it said suggested Clay Lake might have a different metallurgy from the nearby Clontibret deposit.

The company said the result, along with previous results, suggest the potential for high tonnage and overall gold content at the Clay Lake target, which remained open in all directions and to depth.

The drill hole is part of the overall drilling programme encompassing the Clontibret, Clay Lake and Glenish gold targets in the northeast of Conroy's licence area.

In August, Conroy updated the exploration target for the area, excluding Clontibret, to an estimated 8.8 million ounces of gold, and last week it announced the discovery of a new gold outcrop between the Clontibret and the Corcaskea gold target.

Conroy's shares were up 4.35% Thursday to 12p (US15.5c).