Public meeting on latest mining application

A local mining objection group is to host a public meeting seeking support to block an application by a UK-based company looking to explore for minerals in the north of the county.
The meeting is proposed to take place at the Killoughter Community Hall in Redhills tomorrow evening (Monday), December 23, at 8.30pm.
The Department of Communications’ Exploration and Mining Division (EMD) is currently considering the application by Great Glen Resources Ltd, which is hopeful of finding barytes, base metals, as well as gold and silver ore south-east of Belturbet and stretching into the Redhills and north Ballyhaise areas.
These licences allow the holder to explore for minerals deposits and do not authorise the actual mining of any minerals. The only activities permissible under the licence are, in general, non-invasive and of “minimal” environmental impact.
Among areas listed in the notice are 41 townlands in the Tullygarvey Barony including the historic Castlesaundersonand; and two (Carrickmore and Drumliff) in the Loughtee Upper Barony.
It follows a similar notice of intention submitted by Australian-based BMEx Pty Ltd back in 2017. It too was met with widespread objection in the locality and later dropped by the company concerned.
Cavan Mining Objection Group’s (CMOG), which previous strongly campaigned against the BMEx Pty Ltd application, is supporting the local communities affected by the Great Glen proposal.
They are not just annoyed by the arrival of a fresh application for an area that includes two important Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) but also the fact that some lands listed are part of the UNESCO recognised Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark.
As a result, CMOG has sent its own very detailed objection letter to the Department, containing what members feel is “new and relevant information” on prospecting and mining by linking to new guidance on the practices issued by the UN”.
A spokesperson for CMOG told The Anglo-Celt: “Something seriously must change here regarding future prospecting and mining on a national level, as mining (and quarrying too) is one of the dirtiest and destructive of all industries.”