Banner image: courtesy of the Save Our Sperrins (SOS) Campaign

The State of Mining in Ireland series contains a set of reports, case studies and guides for local communities. The content will be added to this page when it becomes available. Lynda Sullivan, An Taisce's Mineral Extraction Policy Officer has been researching and producing materials for use to understand more about mining and impacts on communities in some key sites nationwide.

The first produced is a case study on the Sperrin Mountains and Dalradian Gold. It has been produced from research into the environmental impacts of this industry and the specific risks associated with the activities involved.

In 2017, Dalradian Gold submitted one of the largest planning applications on the island of Ireland for a large underground mine and processing infrastructure beside Greencastle, County Tyrone, in the Sperrin Mountains. Legally one of most protected landscapes in Europe, the Sperrins is highly environmentally sensitive and an important cultural landscape. 

Despite this, this mining application is still being considered by the Northern Ireland executive and there is currently a public inquiry with the Planning Appeals Commission NI (PACNI) into the controversial plans. Ongoing breaches in environmental law and democratic rights have surrounded the application and public inquiry process. Resistance emerged as early as 2014 and since then the campaign against the proposed mine has grown with national and international support.

More than 50,000 submissions were lodged raising concerns about the mine throughout the planning process. Concerns have been raised relating to air, water, land, human rights, transboundary impacts, cultural heritage, livelihoods and the economic model that mining fuels. This application represents an important case in the direction of mining policy both North and South of the border.

To download full case study, please click this link or you can download it via image below: