Gold Mining Company's Weasel Words rejected by Cllr Keith Martin

mayo | environment | press release

Monday December 03, 2007 22:50

by Cllr Keith Martin - Labour Party

Councillor objects to Gold Mining near Croagh Patrick

Councillor Keith Martin of the Westport Labour Party has said that the proposed "tourism mine" for Mayo is an effort to establish whole-scale Gold Mining in the Vicinity of Croagh Patrick. The company propose to mine for Gold in the Middle of a Designated SAC.

Cllr Keith Martin

Councillor Keith Martin of Westport Town Council has accused Mayo's Gold Limited, the company behind the proposed Gold Mine at Creggaunbaun, near Louisburgh, of being deliberately misleading as to the size and scale of the proposed mine.

Cllr Martin says that when the mine was first mooted by Mayo’s Gold Limited it was described by the company as ‘seven dwarf type tourist operation’ and as a “tourism product based around a show mine, producing a small amount of gold. The company went on to state categorically that “This is not a commercial venture.”

The company also claimed that they would be seeking ‘international geopark status’ for the region, which would brand it as a geological area of international significance.

According to the Labour Party councillor these are nothing but “weasel words” designed to “soften opposition to the project which is to be used as the thin end of a wedge to establish a full size mining operation close to Croagh Patrick.”

Cllr Martin says “In the local media Mayo’s Gold Limited is talking about the seven dwarfs and a tourism mine while in the national papers they are talking about raising €25 million to set it up. That’s some seven dwarf mine that costs €25 million! When you then hear that they are exploring an area the size of 135 townlands in Louisburgh and expect to find a possible yield of €3.4 billion you know that this is a serious operation designed to bring in whole-scale Gold mining by the back door into a environmentally sensitive, culturally and religiously important area with a massive tourism value as it is.

“This company must think the people of West Mayo don’t read the national newspapers! This isn’t Killinaskully and the people of the area won’t be fooled by weasel words or the promises of the company. The people say no to Gold mining in Mayo and no to Mayo’s Gold Limited. They said it twenty years ago when mining was first proposed and they are saying it again.”