Irish entrepreneur John Teeling is contemplating an AIM float for zinc and gold prospector Connemara Mining.

Teeling is planning to to raise an initial £300,000 in £2,000 blocks from private sources for Connemara, which has licences near other Irish mines at Tara, Lisheen and Pallas Green, before taking the company to AIM. He started Connemara Mining when zinc, now booming at $2,600 (£1,521) a tonne, was out of favour and, he says, old zinc hands came to him with projects.

With gold licences in Kerry and Wicklow thrown in, Teeling argues that in an ideal world he would wait more than a year before floating Connemara, but 'I have to catch the market'. With observers expecting action soon in another Teeling company, hitherto lacklustre performer Persian Gold, he has a busy few months ahead of him.

Meanwhile, another Irish entrepreneur, Professor Richard Conroy, plans to raise £500,000 at 4p to continue funding AIM-quoted Conroy Diamonds & Gold's prolonged gold exploration saga on the Irish border. At 4.63p, up 0.25p today, Conroy shares remain a fraction of their 25p float in 2000, but have advanced since Growth Company Investor's October mention at 2.63p and, though risky, retain some speculative potential.

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