East Mayo communities warned over prospect of “environmental disaster”

Prospecting licenses have been granted by Environment Minister Eamon Ryan to an Australian company, Oriel Selection Trust Limited, to explore the potential for the mining of base metals, gold, silver and platinum across an extensive wide area of east Mayo.

He made the decision despite an objection to the proposal by the secretary of the Mayo Environmental Group, Sean O’Malley.

In his submission to the Geoscience Regulation Office which considered the application, Mr. O’Malley said it was it is illogical to give a mining company a prospecting licence and at the same time imply that they may not get a mining license if their prospecting results are favourable.

Mr. O’Malley’s group is disappointed by the minister’s ruling and is calling on community groups in the Charlestown, Kilkelly, Aghamore and Kilmovee areas to seriously consider the implications of the proposal.

He said he is amazed that the Green Party leader signed off on the granting of prospecting licenses to a company in order to determine the commercial potential of mining for gold, silver and copper across a wide stretch of Mayo and Roscommon.

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications had published a notice last October outlining the minister’s intentions to grant a prospecting licence to Oriel Section Trust Limited, Kells, Co. Meath, in what was described as ‘the townlands of Costello Barony, Co. Mayo.’

Oriel Selection Trust Limited has been active in Ireland for over 16 years and their exploration activity has been focused on Volcanic Massive Sulphide (VMS) and orogenic gold mineralisation.

There are nine Natura 2000 sites on or within the vicinity of the licences, including Lough Gara SPA, Urlaur Lakes SAC, Derrinea Bog SAC, River Moy SAC, and the Doocastle Turlough SAC 000492.

There are also 15 proposed National Heritage Areas within or adjacent to the licence areas.

The minerals of interest are base metals, baryte, gold, silver, copper and platinum group metals.

It is understood the licences’ main potential is for copper mineralisation and the Charlestown zinc/copper deposit sits within the licence area when the company previously held the licence and which reported an inferred resource of 3.17mT at 0.92% zinc and 0.325% copper.

During the public consultation process after the minister indicated in a public notice last October that he intended granting the licence, the only submission received was the one by the Mr. O'Malley of Mayo Environmental Group questioning the logic of issuing a prospecting licence while implying a mining licence may not be allocated even if the prospecting results are favourable.

The Geoscience Regulation Office’s response to Mr. O’Malley’s submission stated a prospecting licence will normally be valid for six years and will entitle the licensee to carry out various activities in the search for certain specified minerals. Prospecting licences can be renewed, subject to the satisfaction of the minister, it stated.

“Prospecting is very different to mining in terms of its environmental impact and scale and relates only to the activity of exploring for minerals.

“Finding an economically viable mineral deposit does not confer any rights in terms of the granting of planning permission for development of a mine, nor does it give a prospecting licence holder any basis on which to take legal action, should the planning permission be refused,” the response added.

The Geoscience Regulation Office said the decision to recommend the granting the prospecting licence for a period of six years is based on the fact that there are strong legal protections in place for the environment and society as a whole, the company’s exploration programme and minerals of interest and current government policy.

In his reaction to the decision, Mr. O’Malley said everybody knows that mining, should it materialise in this case, involves the use of very dangerous chemicals or by smelting, which involves the use of large amounts of electricity.

He said he would be fearful of “an environmental disaster,” as transpired in Tynagh Mines and other areas of the country, if mining in east Mayo proceeds in the years ahead.

Mr. O’Malley said the people of east Mayo should get organised and set up their own environmental group, visit Tynagh and the Silvermines “and view for themselves the environmental disaster that transpired there and still exists, particularly at Tynagh.”

“I suggest at that point they would make their feelings known to their local councillors. There is no mining process that is safe.

“When they see prospectors on their lands, they should challenge them and ask them to lodge funds into their bank accounts in order to cover the cost of repairing damage caused to their grounds and lands.

“I witnessed what happened at Croagh Patrick back in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the west side of the mountain is still badly scarred as a result. It takes thousands of years for such damaged lands to return to what they once were,” he added.