Future of Omagh mining firm in doubt

DOZENS of workers at the Galantas Gold Corporation premises outside Omagh have been laid off by the firm, the UH has been told.

Around 40 workers at the facility – which has been operating at Cavanacaw for three decades – were informed of the decision by bosses on Friday.

They were given a one week notice of the termination of their employment, before the shock news was confirmed at the start of this week.

The UH also understands that just 14 staff will be retained for the maintenance and security of the site, which is about four miles from the town centre.

Omagh Town Alliance councillor, Stephen Donnelly, said that he has expressed concerns about the financial viability of the mine.

“From our perspective, I have expressed concerns about the long-term viability of the company and its operations at Cavanacaw, leaving aside the environmental impact of the work which has been highlighted for many years,” he said.

“What this does is point to the wider implications in terms of Galantas not putting in place the funding and plans in place to deal with the eventual evacuation, and in this case the potential abandonment of this facility.

“No-one will take any pleasure in workers losing their employment at such a difficult time for families and the financial implications of this are clear. My hope is that any workers who are being laid off are able to seek other employment and access any support they require.”

In a statement published on the company’s website yesterday (Wednesday), Galantas offered shares for sale, with the net proceeds expected to be used for exploration, including follow-up drilling at Cavanacaw.

Last week, the company said that the ‘recruitment and retention’ of underground mining crews at the Omagh project has ‘continued to be a challenge.’ This, it added, was due to the consequences of only being able to recruit miners from the UK and Ireland and that this had ‘greatly impacted productivity’.

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