Environmentalists on the island of Ireland say they fear a “new carve-up of the island” over coming decades, with mining concessions now covering more than a quarter of all land on both sides of the border.
More than 25% of the total land area of Northern Ireland is covered by mining concessions, according to government statistics, while the figure for the Irish republic has in the past couple of years been even higher at 27%. The prospecting licences covering these areas grant mining companies permission to survey and assess sites, as well as carry out exploratory work that includes digging tunnels, pits, taking rock samples and carrying out chemical analyses.
Those areas compare with an estimated 7.7% coverage of Scotland, 6.4% coverage of Wales and 0.2% of England – based on approximate calculations of data held by the Coal Authority and the crown estate.
Figures released by the devolved Department for the Economy indicate more than a quarter of land in a number of Northern Ireland’s 11 local authority areas are covered by prospecting licences and that 69.1% of the local authority area for Derry and Strabane, by the land border with the Irish republic, is covered by such mining concessions.
The same department has since 2016 awarded 13 prospecting licences to firms seeking to extract gold, silver and diamonds, among other precious metal and mineral deposits. A further four licence applications are under consideration, prompting Northern Ireland’s biggest party, Sinn Féin, to call for a moratorium on new licences.
Campaigners fear contamination of waterways, “engineered” social division and the threats to “ancient and existing ways of life” posed by prospective mining schemes.
“The extent of mining concessions coverage in Ireland represents a new carve-up of the island,” said James Orr, the director of Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland.
Lynda Sullivan, a member of Communities Against the Injustice of Mining, an all-island network of groups resisting mining and other forms of industrialised extraction, said: “Extractivism is a form of neocolonialism – it works along the same dynamics as colonialism, targeting and exploiting the marginalised.
“There is a whole array of impacts that come with mining … along with the environmental devastation, it’s also about the social breakdown that comes with mining: the ‘mining’ of the community that comes before the mining of the land. It’s about the destruction of livelihoods and of ancient and existing ways of life that comes with the industrialisation of rural areas.”
Industry bodies such as the Institute of Geologists of Ireland (IGI), however, say Ireland has long been subject to significant mining exploration work and must ensure it remains open to this activity in order to help facilitate the transition to a “green economy”.
“Much of the country has been subject to mineral exploration since the 1960s with thousands of prospecting licences having been issued across Ireland (north and south),” said Emer Blackwell, the chair of the IGI’s mineral information working group. “At one point Ireland was the leading producer of zinc in Europe and among the top 10 producers in the world.”
Blackwell said the “output is essential to maintain our living standards and facilitate the move to the green economy,” adding that €550m of annual investment driving this work has supported a “thriving indigenous industry” in the Irish republic that extends to about 1,400 regional jobs.
Much of the grassroots opposition to new mining ventures in Northern Ireland and the border area has centred on an application to mine gold and silver in the Sperrin Mountains, County Tyrone, brought by the Canadian company Dalradian Gold. Considered a test case for other prospective sites in the surrounding area, the firm has been carrying out exploratory work in the Sperrins since 2009. A public inquiry into the mining proposals has been announced.
The role of the crown estate in facilitating this work in Northern Ireland has been the subject of some controversy over recent months, sparking demonstrations and requests to stop awarding further concessions. The estate, which also holds rights to gold and silver deposits in England, Scotland and Wales, grants options to take mining leases once planning conditions have been satisfied.
The question of the gold and silver deposits’ ownership has been raised by Fermanagh and Omagh district council, which last year formally requested the estate consider divesting its present rights to gold and silver deposits in Northern Ireland.
A spokesperson for the crown estate said: “We deliver 100% of our net profits to HM Treasury. The crown estate does not grant exploration rights for mining of gold or silver.”
A spokesperson from the Department for the Economy said: “The department considers its current licensing regime is sufficiently effective. In over 50 years of operation there has been no evidence of environmental, economic or other issues that would deem a moratorium necessary while the review is ongoing.
“The department is not therefore considering the suspension of licensing at this time, as there is no indication that it would benefit the review process and would most likely be subject to legal challenge. It is also important to note that suspension of mineral licences by the department would not impact gold or silver exploration or extraction, as these are licensed by the crown estate commissioners.”
