The 'gold and diamond diggers' have well and truly arrived in Northern Ireland now.
Dalradian Gold boss Patrick Anderson clearly wasn’t joking when he told Bloomberg back in 2015 “I’m not talking about a single mine here, we are working on a mine camp”.
His company now holds six mineral prospecting licences for this wee place with a number of other gold and diamond prospectors hot on their heals.
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In all, the Department for Economy has issued 13 prospecting licences since 2016 with another four under consideration.
Conroy Gold and Natural Resources Plc has two, Flintridge Resources Ltd has two with an application in for another while Karelian Diamond Resources Plc has one but has requested two more.
Mountcastle Trust has one prospecting licence and it too wants another.
But what is a prospecting licence?
“A Mineral Prospecting Licence is a legal permission, issued by the Department for the Economy, to explore for minerals in Northern Ireland,” says the DfE website.
“Under the Minerals Development Act (NI) 1969 (the 1969 Act) a Licensee will have the exclusive right to explore for specified minerals within the area covered by the licence.”
That means they can survey, assess, dig trenches, pits and rock samples as well as drill, trial mine, do assaying and chemical analysis - and all this without so much as an environmental impact assessment despite its potential impacts on both that and biodiversity.
But to make matters more complicated the Queen’s estate owns all the gold and silver rights.
I’m not here to talk about the well documented impact of extractive industries on the environment or the need for these minerals in the push toward renewables today.
What I do want to tackle is the fact Northern Ireland is still dishing out these consents under law that is 53-years-old. And with all the crises our countryside already faces in terms of pollution, species and biodiversity decline - something needs to change.
One of the recent licences issued to Dalradian by DfE states: “The Licensee shall not carry out any work within or in close proximity to an Area of Specific Scientific Interest (ASSI) or a Natura 2000 site without the prior written consent of the Department.”
That doesn’t mean that it can’t happen, with consent.
Sinn Fein called for a moratorium on prospecting licences this week after the latest tranche of permits was issued by DfE.
The party’s economy spokesperson, Caoimhe Archibald, said: “The current framework is outdated and not fit for purpose. Communities in the areas affected have consistently raised their deep concerns about the potential environmental and health impacts such projects could have but those concerns have not been adequately addressed.
“The Department of Economy needs to carry out an urgent review into the current regulatory framework underpinning mineral licensing to ensure the highest standards of environmental protection and transparency are put in place.
“This is needed to improve public confidence in the process,” she added. “A moratorium on the granting of mineral prospecting licences should be introduced and remain in place until the regulatory framework has been reviewed and amended.”
A DfE spokesperson said “the department has begun a wide ranging review of minerals licensing policy and regulatory framework” which includes research into “the economic, societal and environmental impacts of mineral exploration and mining in Northern Ireland”.
This review “will inform the scope of the issues to be considered as part of the review of mineral exploration and mining policy”.
In the meantime, however, a spokesperson added: “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 on-going. 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.”
Rather interestingly, when asked about prospecting licences it has issued - they told me they “do not permit exploration for gold and silver which require separate authority from the Crown Estate”.
“Virtually” all the gold and silver deposited in Northern Ireland (as well as England and Wales) is owned by the Crown Estate and they “encourage proposals” for commercial exploration and development.
Maps show they had issued 13 Mines Royal Option Agreements and one Mines Royal Lease as of 2021 in NI.
Over the water in Wales, the total number was 10 and there was no map for England, which makes me think that figure could be zero - but they haven’t confirmed if that's the case or not.
Whatever the figure, the sheer number of consents issued to miners in NI really makes me think the Crown Estate hopes to get as much out of this wee place as they can, while they can.
Kids are great for photo ops, but what's being done to protect their wee lungs?
Instead of unveiling Northern Ireland’s first Clean Air Strategy on Clean Air Day this week, Edwin Poots was instead visiting Knockbreda Primary School.
What you might not know is the fact its nearest air pollution monitor on the Upper Newtownards Road measured levels of Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) that consistently broke the recommended World Health Organisation limits this week.
So while the kids were used for a photo op - their wee lungs still aren’t being protected.
By UK standards there’s nothing wrong with the air pollution levels here - yet they kill around 500 people a year.
WHO has cut the annual average NO2 limit from 40 to 10 µg/m3 - on Tuesday the Newtownards Road hit 46.
But our Environment Minister has yet to put forward a strategy to tackle the problem.
Credit where credit's due
I often give Translink boss Chris Conway a hard time here for our very poor public transport system.
But he did well this week when he set out his vision for the future of transport in Northern Ireland at an event on clean air.
Now, it seems, he just needs the support and the money to deliver it.
I just wish those who dish out the cash could imagine the truly amazing impact a fantastic public transport system could make on everything from our health and wellbeing to our impact on the planet.
Take your own fork for a takeaway
I’ve started carrying my own cutlery set about so I don’t have to use chuck away single use plastics and spoons.
It’s a great job and as it’s always sitting in the bottom of my work bag, I never forget it.
I’m not entirely sure where I got it, but it cost around a fiver at the time.
Not the cheapest, but I’ll hold on to it as long as I can and it’s already helped me reduce my waste. What’s not to love!
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