Green Party and gold mine company Dalradian clash after announcement of public inquiry by SDLP minister Nichola Mallon

The Green Party and the company behind a proposed gold mine in Co Tyrone have issued sharply contrasting responses to the announcement of a public inquiry into the project.
A Dalradian image of the exploration site in Co TyroneA Dalradian image of the exploration site in Co Tyrone
A Dalradian image of the exploration site in Co Tyrone

Dalradian says their project will create 1,000 jobs over 25 years at Greencastle, Co Tyrone. It says the mountains could contain £3bn in gold and provide a £750m boost to the NI economy.

However, the Green Party argues that the environmental impact would be too great, with almost 40,000 objections lodged to date. Critics claim a huge mine spoil mound would impair the beauty of the area.

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Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon announced yesterday that a public inquiry will be held about the plans.

She noted that the application, first lodged in 2017, was revised to remove cyanide from its planned processes last year.

“Before any decision is taken I consider it important to have a public inquiry and report which has independently considered the views of stakeholders, including the local community and other government departments, and which will robustly scrutinise the information provided by all interested parties,” she said.

Dalradian said the inquiry will provide “a further forum in which to engage on the facts ... and to hear from all stakeholders”. To date, it has met regulators almost 100 times and invested £130m in NI, it added.

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However, the Green Party’s West Tyrone representative Susan Glass said her party did not regard the inquiry as a concession, but rather a requirement for any application of this scale with such potential impacts on the environment. She added that the inquiry was “long overdue given the level of opposition” and said “trust in the scope and make-up” of it would be essential. Objectors have much smaller budgets than mining companies with which to raise their concerns, she added.

Ms Mallon’s party colleague, SDLP West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan, welcomed the “decisive action” by his party colleague, adding that there are “concerns about the social and environmental impacts” of the project.

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