Public inquiry gets underway on controversial plan for gold mine in protected area

Canadian mining company Dalradian have faced considerable opposition to an application they submitted to build a gold mine in a protect area of Co. Tyrone.

Dalradian has applied to extract 3.5 million ounces of gold, 850,000 ounces of silver and 15,000 tonnes of copper and promises to create 350 permanent jobs as well as a boost to the wider economy.

A public inquiry run by Northern Ireland's Planning Appeals Commission is currently underway and will hear weeks of evidence of major concerns regarding air quality, transport and environmental concerns.

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Following the hearing, a panel will then write a report with recommendations to Stormont's Infrastructure minister.

If the plan is approved, the area would see the building of an underground mine with a 20-year lifespan in the centre of the Sperrin Mountains outside Omagh.

Protesters staged a demonstration ahead of the first sitting of a public inquiry. Save Our Sperrins, a rural community of activists described the inquiry in social media posts as a "pivotal moment in the fight to protect our environment, our community and our future."

In an Instagram post titled "Reasons why we object to a goldmine in the Sperrin Mountains" the group expressed their reasoning for their opposition to the gold mine included concerns that "a toxic waste dump 17 storeys high will be built in the Sperrins".

Other reasons included the release of 24 heavy metals being released into rivers as a result of the mine such as arsenic, mercury and lead. The group also said that there will be two daily blasts from explosives "365 days a year, for 20 years".