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Site overview. (Taken from Dalradian’s presentation to investors, Nov. 2016)
Canada’s Dalradian Resources (TSX:DNA) (LON:DALR), which has been working on its proposed gold project in Tyrone, North Ireland, since early 2010, is having a rough time with locals involved in consultations these days, with dozens walking out of a meeting Monday.
Final environmental impact assessment has yet to be completed and Dalradian has said the planning application will just be submitted next year.
Residents oppose to the firm’s plans to build a processing plant at its Curraghinalt project, which will use cyanide to extract gold, The Irish News reports.
But details for the project, which would employ about 500 people during construction of the mine and plant, are not set in stone.
The final environmental impact assessment has yet to be completed and Dalradian has said the planning application for the project will just be submitted next year.
The Toronto-based miner has the mineral rights to more than 80,000 hectares in Northern Ireland. This includes the company’s flagship Curraghinalt gold project outside Gortin, identified as one of the top ten undeveloped gold deposits by grade in the world.
Since work in the area began in 2010, Dalradian has grown the total resources more than seven-fold to 2.3 million inferred ounces of golden 2.1 million ounces of measured and indicated resources.
The firm says Northern Ireland has the seventh richest undeveloped seam of gold in the world, but political violence kept most investors away for about three decades.
Project location. (Courtesy of Dalradian Resources)
6 Comments
Geosteff
Unnecessary scare tactics by NGO’s preying on people’s ignorance and very rare disasters fan the flames of opposition in Europe. May Dalradian have the wisdom and favour to win over the hearts of the local people. The future for new gold mines in sensitive environments may mean building plants underground and and back-filling the old stopes with tailings after cyanide destruction or regeneration. Would gravity separation and exporting a sulphide concentrate for smelting outside Ireland work here?
In decades of gold mining in Zimbabwe with hundreds of mines, apart from a few cows, the negative impact of cyanide on humans has been almost nil. Driving to work is FAR more dangerous than extracting gold……..but who ever takes that into consideration when canvassing support for a gold mining operation?
Nebs
There are massive limestone quarries in County Tyrone and nobody bats an eyelid
Eoin
Theres a massive difference between a limestone quarry requiring little or nothing in terms of processing and the extraction of low grade gold ore using chemical and mechanical processess. Perhaps if you visited the proposed site and understood the scale of the site and the location of the site you would understand our concerns allied with the fact that although they held a “consultation” they downright refused to answer or couldn’t answer questions in the shed where they held it. Which was at a location unsuitable for many in the community despite the offer for holding it in a suitably located site that was accessible to all and capable of holding the large numbers wishing to engage in the processs. Also this was hall is directly linked to the community they wish to have their plant in less than a km down the road. Not located in a site miles from it.
Although by all means if you think it unreasonable that we ask for a consultation in the local community hall accessible to all with ample car parking and proper accessibility for the elderly and people with mobility issues in the area then insult our intelligence and perhaps you share Dalradians apparent view that these people don’t matter enough to allow them to engage in public consultations.
Alastair Lings
Have you seen the companys 3D Animation of the proposed mine? http://dalradianni.com/ It shows an underground mine with a discreet processing plant and other structures at surface, which blend in well with the local landscape.
The consultations were held at the companys existing minesite 7 km by road from the proposed mine (3 km over the hill). On Facebook the photos that I’ve seen of the consultation show a clean industrial building with posters and displays, chairs and mats. Bottled water was available and portaloos provided. It’s obvious that the company went to considerable effort to consult local people, and 271 people attended the events.
If you had a problem with accessibility it may be because some people decided to abandon their cars when stopped at a police checkpoint, thereby blocking the single-track road.
Helen
Consultation is that what Dalradian called it ??? When you would ask Dalradian a question they did not want to hear they would just walk away. They call our priests liars, they take down any anti posters, now on their facebook page you can not see people comments because they were so many negative comments and they don’t want their shareholders to see them
Alastair Lings
You claim “they call our priests liars”. Can you provide a direct quote from a publication, or from a named person?