‘They haven’t gone away, neither have we’

Protest outside miners' gala event

Protestors who picketed an Irish Mining and Quarrying Society event in Cavan at the weekend want all general election candidates to back a national ban on gold mining across the island of Ireland.

Community groups, numbering close to a dozen from half as many counties across the region, made their stand outside the gates to the Farnham Estate near Cavan Town on Saturday, where inside delegates attended a €125-per-head black tie dinner dance and golf event.

Present were campaigners from the Cavan Mining Opposition Group, Ballyheady says NO to Quarry, Treasure Leitrim, Save Our Sperrins, Saving the Environment of Navan’s Townlands, the Drumgossatt and Knocknacran Residents Group, the Yes to Life No to Mining Network, and Communities Against the Injustice of Mining (CAIM), a national umbrella group.

Hein Ehbrecht is a member of the CMOG, which sought to block the Exploration and Mining Department (EMD) from granting prospecting licences to the Australian mining company BMEx PTY Ltd in 2018. The licences granted to BMEx covered 80 townlands west of Belturbet and north towards Redhills in a search for base metals including barytes, gold and silver.

What CMOG opposed was the proximity of the prospecting area to the Lough Oughter and Associated Loughs Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the UNESCO recognised Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark.

The mining company has since returned the licences to the department, but these can be auctioned again at a future date. “At the time they said there was nothing to find here, that was their reason for returning. But that doesn’t stop someone else from coming in. So these companies haven’t gone away, and neither have we,” Hein told the Celt.

“This [dinner and golf] event is right here on our doorstep. It is important they get the message that their destructive industry is not welcome in Cavan or anywhere else.”

Bernie Collins is a member of the Drumgossatt and Knocknacran Residents Group who have been campaigning for greater transparency after pillars in a closed underground gypsum mine collapsed after a flooding incident, creating large cracks in the earth above. A GAA clubhouse, community centre and playing fields located overhead were condemned as a result; and later replaced by Gyproc.

Earlier this year the company, part of the Saint-Gobain global construction materials group, was granted planning by Monaghan County Council to open up the old Drumgoosat mine near Magheracloone, despite concerns in the local community over potential further subsidence in the area.

However, the permission has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

“You see what can happen,” says Bernie, whose front door is 200 metres from the open cast mine.

Mining has taken place in the locality since 1958, with the open cast mine operating since 1989.

She adds that the fallout goes far beyond what is dug out of the ground. “It has divided a community. [An Bord Pleanala] have put it back twice this year, and we’re still waiting for an answer. My road is undermined. They’re still taking readings on it every two weeks,” she claimed.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) submitted by Gyproc as part of its latest application outlines how issues have been addressed by the mining company.

Marela Fyffe is Chair of Save Our Sperrins. She and her family have devoted their lives to sustainable living on a small farm outside of Omagh, Co Tyrone, close to where company Dalradian is preparing to mine for gold in the area.

“It’s not just a mine, it’s a mining camp, the largest on the island of Ireland, following the Dalradian Ridge up through Leitrim, over the Sperrins and over the sea. They’re already mining in Scotland.”

Her concern is the methods used by the mining company and others in processing minerals extracted.

Dalradian says the rehabilitation of the site will start during operations and continue after mining has finished. But Marella contends: “They say they’re not using Cyanide any more, but they will be using other things, which I think are a threat to our community. There is not enough information out there about this. There are prospecting licences issued for the whole of the Republic at the minute, so the whole country is under threat.”

Eddie Mitchell and James Gilmartin, two independent councillors from north Leitrim, are also members of the Treasure Leitrim movement, a group opposed to gold mining in the local area.

Cllr Gilmartin said: “Our success is measured in saving our communities and our planet.”