Mick Collins ✒ A small village in the heart of the Sperrin Mountains has become the centre of international attention because of a Canadian/US multination gold mining finance companies attempts to extract gold from the Sperrin Mountains near Greencastle. 

A planning inquiry is due to take place sometime in 2022 to examine the pros and cons of an intensive gold mine and processing factory near Greencastle. It is considered that should the planning inquiry and the Stormont Executive give the green light to the project near Greencastle then many more gold mines could be developed both north and south of Ireland. It is conceivable that up to twelve mines could be developed in County Tyrone, County Derry, County Cavan, County Monaghan and County Donegal.

The North of Ireland sits in a strange constitutional conundrum, the European/British EU protocol places Northern Ireland in a separate trading state, it is an agreement between Britain and Europe that raises serious and difficult questions as to the constitutional nature of the state. One particular area in relation to the governance of the North is policing. Policing has always been a contentious issue in the governance of the North since the creation of the Northern Ireland government in 1922. The Good Friday Agreement included arrangements to deal with policing. Many assume that policing of the North of Ireland is a devolved matter. This is far from the case. Policing Northern Ireland is tightly controlled by unelected civil servants in the Northern Ireland Office. The North of Ireland is considered by the Westminster government to be an ultra sensitive area deserving of special constructs and it is considered sacrosanct. As far as Westminster is concerned, policing will never be devolved where there are critical areas of national interest to be maintained and protected. This maintenance and protection comes at a cost in terms of democracy and what many citizens in European civil society take for granted. The North of Ireland throws up a distinctly undemocratic approach to policing.

In the Spring of 2017 a consignment of 15.000 tonnes of gold ore was sent by ship from the Port of Derry to the State of Washington USA and then on to a processing plant in Canada. It was the gold laden ore from an exploratory mine belonging to Dalradian Gold of Canada. The gold ore was extracted from an exploratory mine on the Camcosey Road near Greencastle, County Tyrone. It is believed by local residents opposed to gold mining in the area that the return on the gold ore consignment was very disappointing for Dalradian Gold. The company had trumpeted the potential reserves as world class. 

Policing costs bit hard into the profits on the gold ore consignment. An invoice was issued by the Police Service of Northern Ireland of approximately ₤435,000 for escort duties for blasting at the exploratory mine. During the ‘troubles’ there was no opportunity to use explosives at any potential gold deposits. The post Good Friday arrangements allowed for less paramilitary aggression against explosive escorts. The problem for Dalradian Gold was that escort costs were impinging deeply into any potential profits. Intensive gold mining offers marginal profit and it is the large scale intensive mining and processing that offers the opportunity to maximise profit. Another gold mining company Galantas Gold who mine about 12 miles from Greencastle were charged ₤150,000 for police escorts for blasting at its development at Cavanacaw. In April 2017 the share price of Galantas gold nearly collapsed because the PSNI stated that it could only offer escort duties twice a week at two hours per day. This was according to the PSNI because of restricted budgets and competing resources.

It was discovered in 2021 that after the gold mine companies challenged the escort charges the PSNI changed its policy and returned ₤150,000 to Galantas Gold. Dalradian Gold had never paid the ₤430,000 - the invoice was withdrawn by the PSNI. Galantas Gold who stated that it was uneconomic to mine with such high police charges were able to resume planned mining activities. In effect the change of policy from the PSNI created a subsidy for the mining companies. It is estimated that if the Dalradian project is given planning permission it will cost the PSNI several million pounds to provide escort duties for blasting. Other gold mines are earmarked across the north, the potential costs to the PSNI could exceed ₤50 million over the life of the mines or even more if full scale mining becomes endemic in the Northern Ireland.

How did the change of policy come about ? The responsibility for escorting explosives is not the statutory authority of the PSNI, it is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Office and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. There is then a very strong line of authority into the Cabinet Office at Whitehall in London. Locals opposed to the gold mine development at Greencastle believe that a private deal was brokered at the highest political levels to facilitate free police escorts for Canadian gold mining companies. Many believe that the Canadian government could have influenced the decision. Mining interests, it is believed, have a direct and unimpeded line into the present Tory administration in London. Subsidising off-shore gold mine companies could have fallen foul of subsidy directives from the EU. Since Brexit these directives are not applicable in the UK. 

If an arrangement to facilitate free escorts for blasting in gold mines develops further it will put considerable strain on already limited policing budgets. The community of the North of Ireland will suffer reduced resources in other key areas of policing. Given the restrictions on spending from Whitehall it is highly unlikely that the Northern Ireland Office or the Whitehall based Cabinet Office will underwrite the free policing policy. If it can be argued that profits from mining can be severely impacted by policing costs then it follows that government is subsidising multi-national shareholders of mining companies and financiers. 

There is no accountability to the work of the public protection unit at the Northern Ireland Office. It took several months of freedom of information requests to the PSNI to extract what one anti-mine activist called ‘confusing and evasive answers to genuine areas of concern’ . It would appear that what is happening in the North of Ireland is a far cry from the much heralded reforms instigated by Chris Patten, the architect of the new policing service for Northern Ireland. 

It would appear that multi-national gold mining companies have much more influence in the North of Ireland than its political representatives or citizens the reforms were purported to advance. Civil society has not benefitted from policing reforms which were essentially cosmetic. Policing in the North of Ireland is in the control of unelected and unaccountable units within the Northern Ireland Office. It is to the detriment of the citizens of the North that these bodies are hostages to the whims of profiteers and shareholders outside the state.

Mick Collins is a Tyrone based trade unionist with a passionate interest in the environment.

Policing The North's New Gold Rush

Mick Collins ✒ A small village in the heart of the Sperrin Mountains has become the centre of international attention because of a Canadian/US multination gold mining finance companies attempts to extract gold from the Sperrin Mountains near Greencastle. 

A planning inquiry is due to take place sometime in 2022 to examine the pros and cons of an intensive gold mine and processing factory near Greencastle. It is considered that should the planning inquiry and the Stormont Executive give the green light to the project near Greencastle then many more gold mines could be developed both north and south of Ireland. It is conceivable that up to twelve mines could be developed in County Tyrone, County Derry, County Cavan, County Monaghan and County Donegal.

The North of Ireland sits in a strange constitutional conundrum, the European/British EU protocol places Northern Ireland in a separate trading state, it is an agreement between Britain and Europe that raises serious and difficult questions as to the constitutional nature of the state. One particular area in relation to the governance of the North is policing. Policing has always been a contentious issue in the governance of the North since the creation of the Northern Ireland government in 1922. The Good Friday Agreement included arrangements to deal with policing. Many assume that policing of the North of Ireland is a devolved matter. This is far from the case. Policing Northern Ireland is tightly controlled by unelected civil servants in the Northern Ireland Office. The North of Ireland is considered by the Westminster government to be an ultra sensitive area deserving of special constructs and it is considered sacrosanct. As far as Westminster is concerned, policing will never be devolved where there are critical areas of national interest to be maintained and protected. This maintenance and protection comes at a cost in terms of democracy and what many citizens in European civil society take for granted. The North of Ireland throws up a distinctly undemocratic approach to policing.

In the Spring of 2017 a consignment of 15.000 tonnes of gold ore was sent by ship from the Port of Derry to the State of Washington USA and then on to a processing plant in Canada. It was the gold laden ore from an exploratory mine belonging to Dalradian Gold of Canada. The gold ore was extracted from an exploratory mine on the Camcosey Road near Greencastle, County Tyrone. It is believed by local residents opposed to gold mining in the area that the return on the gold ore consignment was very disappointing for Dalradian Gold. The company had trumpeted the potential reserves as world class. 

Policing costs bit hard into the profits on the gold ore consignment. An invoice was issued by the Police Service of Northern Ireland of approximately ₤435,000 for escort duties for blasting at the exploratory mine. During the ‘troubles’ there was no opportunity to use explosives at any potential gold deposits. The post Good Friday arrangements allowed for less paramilitary aggression against explosive escorts. The problem for Dalradian Gold was that escort costs were impinging deeply into any potential profits. Intensive gold mining offers marginal profit and it is the large scale intensive mining and processing that offers the opportunity to maximise profit. Another gold mining company Galantas Gold who mine about 12 miles from Greencastle were charged ₤150,000 for police escorts for blasting at its development at Cavanacaw. In April 2017 the share price of Galantas gold nearly collapsed because the PSNI stated that it could only offer escort duties twice a week at two hours per day. This was according to the PSNI because of restricted budgets and competing resources.

It was discovered in 2021 that after the gold mine companies challenged the escort charges the PSNI changed its policy and returned ₤150,000 to Galantas Gold. Dalradian Gold had never paid the ₤430,000 - the invoice was withdrawn by the PSNI. Galantas Gold who stated that it was uneconomic to mine with such high police charges were able to resume planned mining activities. In effect the change of policy from the PSNI created a subsidy for the mining companies. It is estimated that if the Dalradian project is given planning permission it will cost the PSNI several million pounds to provide escort duties for blasting. Other gold mines are earmarked across the north, the potential costs to the PSNI could exceed ₤50 million over the life of the mines or even more if full scale mining becomes endemic in the Northern Ireland.

How did the change of policy come about ? The responsibility for escorting explosives is not the statutory authority of the PSNI, it is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Office and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. There is then a very strong line of authority into the Cabinet Office at Whitehall in London. Locals opposed to the gold mine development at Greencastle believe that a private deal was brokered at the highest political levels to facilitate free police escorts for Canadian gold mining companies. Many believe that the Canadian government could have influenced the decision. Mining interests, it is believed, have a direct and unimpeded line into the present Tory administration in London. Subsidising off-shore gold mine companies could have fallen foul of subsidy directives from the EU. Since Brexit these directives are not applicable in the UK. 

If an arrangement to facilitate free escorts for blasting in gold mines develops further it will put considerable strain on already limited policing budgets. The community of the North of Ireland will suffer reduced resources in other key areas of policing. Given the restrictions on spending from Whitehall it is highly unlikely that the Northern Ireland Office or the Whitehall based Cabinet Office will underwrite the free policing policy. If it can be argued that profits from mining can be severely impacted by policing costs then it follows that government is subsidising multi-national shareholders of mining companies and financiers. 

There is no accountability to the work of the public protection unit at the Northern Ireland Office. It took several months of freedom of information requests to the PSNI to extract what one anti-mine activist called ‘confusing and evasive answers to genuine areas of concern’ . It would appear that what is happening in the North of Ireland is a far cry from the much heralded reforms instigated by Chris Patten, the architect of the new policing service for Northern Ireland. 

It would appear that multi-national gold mining companies have much more influence in the North of Ireland than its political representatives or citizens the reforms were purported to advance. Civil society has not benefitted from policing reforms which were essentially cosmetic. Policing in the North of Ireland is in the control of unelected and unaccountable units within the Northern Ireland Office. It is to the detriment of the citizens of the North that these bodies are hostages to the whims of profiteers and shareholders outside the state.

Mick Collins is a Tyrone based trade unionist with a passionate interest in the environment.

4 comments:

  1. Good points by Mick but I'd say the environmental dangers of gold mining should make it illegal in Ireland alone. Arsenic and Cyanide are by-products and/or used to process the ore, in all cases leaching into the ground water and decimating the native flora and fauna. No way should Ireland wants this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree, the environmental dangers are plain to see and accepted as another death knell in our planet. Once again the lure of the dollar bill taking preference over all other considerations, including the planet we live on. The question is, with projects like this, for how much longer. The toxins involved could decimate the flora and fauna, including humans.

    Caoimhin O'Muraile

    ReplyDelete
  3. If anything is "to the detriment of the citizens of the North" it is the continuing threat of "paramilitary aggression", certainly not the peaceful and legitimate use of explosives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Talk about missing the point! You must be a cop or a Dupper.

      Delete