Dalradian say mine development could lead to 400 jobs

Over four hundred jobs could be created in West Tyrone if planning is approved on a major gold mining project for the area.

Dalradian Gold says subject to planning approval their plans to develop a gold mine in County Tyrone is expected to over 400 jobs for the area.

The Canadian gold exploration company described the positions as "well-paid" and ranging "across skill sets" both in construction and in the operation of the mine.

To date, close to £60 million has been invested in the project at Curraghinalt near the villages of Rouskey, Greencastle and Gortin in West Tyrone.

Total projected capital investment for the project is expected to be in the region of hundreds of millions of pounds. 

The firm are currently completing a feasibility study, which they expect to be finished by the end of this month. 

The study will look at all aspects of the project including the potential economic benefits of the plans.

Speaking to Q radio news, Patrick Anderson, CEO of Dalradian Gold, says the mine at Curraghinalt has the potential to last for "decades".

"This sort of deposit can go on for decades, and it's our intention to stay on and responsibly operate the planning that we get," he said.

On the subject of employment for West Tyrone, the Canadian-born business-man whose parents were from Northern Ireland was bullish about the prospects for locals.

"About 200 people during the first two years of construction, that number would increase to 250-300 for the life of mine, depending on the levels of production - absolutely that is deliverable," he added.

He says those numbers are drawn on "comparables from around the world" and based on the knowledge he and his team have from working on projects around the globe.

He also took the time to underline the importance to Dalradian of hiring a locally-based workforce.

"No matter where we've worked in the world we have always made an effort to train locally," he said.

"It's a predominantly Tyrone workforce, we've brought in mining colleges from Canada to work on curricula with South West College to see what's needed to start training people locally for careers in a project such as this," he added.

Later this month, Dalradian are to hold two public consultation events with local residents over their plans for the project.

As of last month, around 1,600 leaflets were distributed to locals and other stakeholders informing them of updates on the proposed work.

Mr. Anderson also wanted to address some local concerns regarding the potential environmental impact the project may have on the local area.

He was keen to stress that the company "is doing all it can" to ensure the environmental impact was as low as possible on local surroundings.

"We've spent over a year now working on an environmental impact assessment, or EIA - and we have been monitoring and consulting on what the noise level will be. We are planning the site to be as much a part of the landscape as possible - we are doing all the work we can to make sure that this is as low impact as possible," he told Q radio news.

The chief executive was also keen to stress that he and the company were open when it comes to engaging with local opposition groups and those with concerns within the community.

"I don't see us as a threat, we're bringing good employment - great skill sets - and we've been in the local area [since 2009]. We engage with whoever wants to come and engage with us. As people learn more about what we're doing and get more comfortable with it, I would like to think they would see [what we're planning] as a positive," he said.

"We have open phone-lines and an open-door approach. We've actually tried to engage with those organised groups that have voiced opposition to us. And we haven't met with success in sitting down and meeting with them. But otherwise we have people in the communities going door-to-door [to answer questions] and we've just advertised more official meetings - our offices in Gortin and Omagh have open-door policies," he added.