North Limerick Carbonate-hosted Zinc Project

Alba has been granted five exploration licences (134.97 km2) including areas surrounding the disused Gortdrum Cu-Hg-Ag Mine and other minor base-metal occurrences in areas of Counties Limerick and Tipperary. These licences were issued on 27 May 2004 and 28 June 2006. Originally these licences were explored by Alba Mineral Resources as a conceptional carbonate-hosted gold play. However, promising exploration (including geochemical sampling, geophysics and mapping) in the area resulted in the company reclassifying the licences as prospective for base metal mineralization. The proximity to recent exploration successes by other exploration companies at similar stratigraphic levels only 7 km from the Alba licences is positive. Other features which encourage the company are:

• Anomalous zinc values from mineralized carbonate lithologies
• Suitable rocks providing a potential reservoir for zinc mineralizing fluids
• Evidence for hydrothermal fluids (silicification, dolomitization and pyritization) indicating enhanced permeability of potential host-rocks and a potential mineralizing system
• Elevated concentrations of zinc-associated elements such as cadmium, antimony, arsenic, silver and mercury

AMR has proposed the following exploration programme:

• Assemble a spatial electronic relational database of relevant historical exploration data
• AMR will conduct highly focused detailed infill sampling
• Drill-target areas will be identified from prospectivity maps

Map illustrating the location of base metal licences held by Alba Mineral Resources in the Limerick Basin. The former Gortdrum Mine (Cu-Ag-Hg) is present as are a number of subeconomic base metal deposits, i.e., Courtbrown (Zn-Pb) and Aherlow (Cu-Ag), and recent exploration success by Minco-Xstrata and Connemara Mining-Teck Cominco (yellow star).