'Back to square one' as gold mine inquiry is suspended

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.

Regulation breaches by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) means the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) inquiry cannot go ahead as scheduled.

It had heard two days of evidence after opening on Monday in Omagh's Strule Arts Centre to examine the plans by the firm Dalradian.

The company has been working on the Curraghinalt site near Greencastle, in the Sperrin Mountains, for 15 years.

It is believed to contain one of the world's most significant undeveloped gold deposits.

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 (DCC) adequate time to respond after a cross-border issue was identified.

It was also determined that online advertisements in County Donegal about the inquiry did not have a direct link to one of the relevant applications.

Commissioner Jacqueline McParland described the inquiry as having been "besieged with difficulties".

She said it was "deeply regrettable" that members of the PAC had been put in this position by what she called "the inaction of government departments, in particular the planning department of DfI" to follow their own legislative procedures.

Ms McParland added that DfI Roads had not engaged with the process "at all".

She also said that given the implications for access to justice, she had "no option" but to accede to the request from the department for a further suspension.

Those in the auditorium at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh applauded as she and her fellow commissioners rose.

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.

Following that admission, David Elvin KC initially told the inquiry that he wanted to make it "absolutely clear that we don't consider this necessarily leads to any disruption of the inquiry".

But following submissions from others, including people objecting to the mine and legal counsel for Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, he said he "could not fairly ask" commissioners to continue.

It will resume with a mid-inquiry hearing in late March.

Under its own regulations, the department has a statutory obligation to notify bodies in the Republic when a transboundary issue arises from a planning application.

After the pre-inquiry hearing in March 2024, DfI notified DCC to check any potential transboundary issues.

That contact was "chased" in June, September and November.

David Elvin KC said that DCC had indicated it "wished to participate" in November and subsequently launched a consultation which closed on 6 January.

He referred to "inadequate internal procedures" at Donegal County Council for their late participation.

In a statement, Donegal County Council said it had "undertaken the required consultation process" and that all submissions had been forwarded to the Northern Ireland authority.

In this context, it continued, the council asserts that "the competent decision-making authority should ensure that any potential environmental risks that may impact on the Foyle catchment should be fully interrogated".

Campaigners against the mine said the decision to suspend the inquiry was "no massive surprise".

Former independent councillor Emmet McAleer, who attended as an objector, said it was "extremely disheartening but nothing new".

He said campaigners "were back to square one".

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.

It has also said it will create and support up to 1,000 jobs and add $5bn (£4.1bn) to the Northern Ireland economy.

However a campaign group, Save Our Sperrins, was set up to oppose the development - it has raised concerns about the impact on health and the environment.

The mine is proposed for an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, close to the Owenkillew and Owenreagh rivers, which contain several protected species.

Not everyone living in the area are opposed to the mine, with some welcoming the prospect of jobs and investment.

The Silent Majority Community Group has said the majority of 50,000 objections originally submitted to the proposal came before Dalradian ditched its planned use of cyanide in the mining process.

The use of cyanide was included in Dalradian's initial planning application in 2017 and then removed in an amended application in 2019.

In 2020, then infrastructure minister Nicola Mallon ordered a PAC inquiry into the plans.

It was previously adjourned in September 2024 amid confusion over water licence approvals.