Costs of gold mine inquiry so far include £11,000 for ‘security’

A public inquiry into proposed plans for a gold mine in Tyrone has cost almost half a million pounds to date, it has emerged.

This includes a bill for almost £11,000 for ‘security costs’.

Plans for the gold mine near Greencastle were first submitted in 2017 by Dalradian, a US-owned company.

Dalradian claims the region could contain £3bn in gold and this could provide a £750m boost to the Northern Ireland economy.

Dalradian also insists that its plans, which it claimed will create up to 1,000 jobs, would ‘respect’ the surrounding environment.

However, around 50,000 objections were lodged against the planning application, highlighting the huge local opposition to the gold mine proposal.

Then Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon announced in 2020 that the gold mine plans would be the subject of an independent public inquiry.

The inquiry, which is being overseen by the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC), was previously adjourned in September 2024 amid confusion over water licence approvals.

The probe opened for public hearings at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh last month, but on the third day of evidence the inquiry was adjourned.

It was reported that the Department for Infrastructure had not notified the Irish government, or given Donegal County Council adequate time to respond after a cross-border issue was identified.

No date has yet been set for the restart of the inquiry.

Responding to a Freedom of Information request from the PA news agency, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunal Service has revealed the costs of the inquiry so far have totalled £478,159.

A report in the Irish News states that while salaries account for most of the costs, there is also a sum of £10,955 for what is described as ‘security costs’.