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Science

A monthly newsletter about current science topics by Margaret Franklin

Ireland’s Valuable Lithium Deposits Ireland’s mineral resources are sometimes under-estimated. We have the largest lead-zinc deposits in Europe. Our mines at Navan, Galmoy and Lisheen make Ireland the top zinc producer in the EU. It now appears that Ireland has useful deposits of a very different and rather rare metal: Lithium. A Canadian company, International Lithium Corporation, (ILC) has prospecting licences for lithium on the Carlow side of the Blackstairs mountains. This area is in the Leinster pegmatite belt, which is rich in lithium. It extends roughly from the town of Borris in a NE direction, for over 50 kilometres. With the help of Chinese investors, ILC may develop the resource. A Chinese investment company, ‘Ganfeng Lithium’ is financing the Canadian company’s project in the Blackstairs. Lithium-bearing pegmatite was first reported in the area in the 1970s, when Irish Base Metals carried out an exploration programme of sampling and geophysical surveys. Because of the scarcity of outcrop, they used boulder samples. The location, size and quantity of pegmatite boulders within the dry stone field boundaries indicated the presence of buried pegmatites. The Picture shows the Wexford side of the Blackstairs Mountains, viewed from Vinegar Hill


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