An inquiry into a proposed gold mine in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, has been suspended due to regulation breaches by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI). The Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) inquiry was unable to proceed as scheduled because the department failed to notify relevant bodies, including the Irish government and Donegal County Council, about the inquiry and did not provide adequate time for responses. The suspension is considered a setback for both proponents and opponents of the mine, pushing the project back to an earlier stage.
Campaigners who oppose a proposed gold mine in County Tyrone say they are "back to square one" after an inquiry into the plans was suspended.
The company has been working on the Curraghinalt site near Greencastle, in the Sperrin Mountains, for 15 years.In the two days that the inquiry ran, it emerged that the department had failed to notify the Irish government about the inquiry and that it had not given Donegal County Council adequate time to respond after a cross-border issue was identified.
Legal counsel for the department admitted on Tuesday that "some technical breaches" had occurred when it failed to notify Donegal County Council and other bodies in the Republic of Ireland of the inquiry. After the pre-inquiry hearing in March 2024, DfI notified DCC to check any potential transboundary issues.David Elvin KC said that DCC had indicated it "wished to participate" in November and subsequently launched a consultation which closed on 6 January.
Former independent councillor Emmet McAleer, who attended as an objector, said it was "extremely disheartening but nothing new".Dalradian has been working on the site since 2009 - it believes a mine could yield 100 tonnes of gold, 48 tonnes of silver and 15,000 tonnes of copper in its 20 to 25-year lifetime.
The mine is proposed for an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, close to the Owenkillew and Owenreagh rivers, which contain several protected species.
GOLDMINE PLANNING INQUIRY REGULATION BREACHES ENVIRONMENT NORTHERN IRELAND TYRONE
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