Dalradian: Gold in the hills? Tyrone mine decision moves closer

A group trying to stop a gold mine project in rural County Tyrone says it will continue its campaign whether or not planning for it is approved.

A public inquiry into the project will begin in September and is expected to last up to six weeks.

The Planning Appeals Commission will then advise the Department for Infrastructure on whether it thinks planning should be approved.

Dalradian first submitted an application to mine in 2017.

The Canadian company then revised the application in 2019, dropping plans to use cyanide as part of the extraction process.

It said it was "ready to commence construction with immediate effect upon receipt of a positive planning determination".

The company has been working on the Curraghinalt site beside Greencastle in the Sperrin Mountains since 2009 with the aim of developing an underground mine.

It says it could yield 100 tonnes of gold during the mine's 20-year lifetime, along with 15,000 tonnes of copper and 24 tonnes of silver and that 1,000 jobs would be created directly and indirectly.

There have been about 50,000 objections to it.

The Save Our Sperrins group was formed in 2015.

Among its concerns are plans to build a huge mound of mine spoil into the landscape of an area of outstanding natural beauty and the potential impact on air quality and the Owenkillew and Owenreagh rivers.

It is also concerned about the impact of lorries, including some carrying explosives, on rural roads, some passing local schools.

Looking ahead to September's public inquiry, group member Fidelma O'Kane said: "Our hope is that the inquiry will recommend that planning permission should not be given for such an industry in this area of outstanding natural beauty.

"We will keep on fighting.

"If they decide that it will go ahead, we will then consider if we have grounds for a judicial review - if that fails, then we'll have to lie down in front of the machinery."

She said if planning was rejected the group would carry on and fight for legislation to protect the "rights of nature and rights of communities".

Dalradian said the planning application "was developed over many years and is based on extensive environmental data and industry best practice".

It added: "Environmental consideration is central to all our activity - this is reflected in the planning application which contains expert environmental reports on issues such as biodiversity, water, air quality, noise and ecology."

The proposed use of cyanide in the process had "struck fear" into local people Ms O'Kane said.

And even though the planning application had been revised to remove if from the process, Save Our Sperrins says it fears cyanide could be reintroduced down the line.

However, Dalradian says it "amended both our site processes and planning materials in 2019 to remove cyanide".

"Its use does not form any part of our plans and, consequently, the final stages of gold processing will be completed overseas."

While Save Our Sperrins represents those opposed to the project, others in the local community want to see it go ahead.

The Silent Majority Community Group says it will bring hundreds of jobs to the area.

"This will make a fantastic transformation to this place and will be unlike anything else around," a spokesperson for its committee said.

"Normally, people from here have to commute to work, many going long distances to places like Belfast and Dublin on a daily basis to work in construction."

The group says the majority of the 50,000 objections to the proposal came before Dalradian ditched the use of cyanide.

"That increased local confidence massively," the spokesperson said.

"Other than that, the company is making huge work around the environment - they will have a water treatment plant which is better than any sewage works locally."

Dalradian says the rehabilitation of the site "will start during operations and continue after mining has finished".

It says the clear-up activities will be covered by a legally binding bond agreed by the Department for Infrastructure.

It added that the column of left-over rock will be "enriched with topsoil and planted" and "designed for stability" and to fit in with the landscape.

One thing that everyone concerned agrees on is that the planning process has been painfully slow.

The final decision on whether or not to approve the mine will be made by the Department for Infrastructure.

"A timeframe for a decision on the application cannot be provided as it will be dependent on the outcome of the public local inquiry and the content of the PAC's report," its spokesperson said.

Dalradian says it would "like to see a timely conclusion to the planning process to help give certainty to all stakeholders in what has been a slow process to date".

Ms O'Kane said the group had "hung in there, persevered and the determination of the group has kept us going".

"We've been going for 10 years. What's another 10 years for us," she said.