There is a long history of mining in Ireland and, therefore, there are quite a number of small historic mine sites and also some sites that are quite large. A number of these historic sites have continuing problems today.
There is currently no specific legislation in Ireland dealing with the remediation of orphaned or abandoned mine sites. However, the Exploration and Mining Division are involved in various mine rehabilitation projects, as well as being responsible for safety aspects with regard to shafts, buildings etc.
The most current and prominent project involves the Silvermines area of County Tipperary where historic mining activity has caused significant local concerns. The most significant of these is Mogul's tailings management facility (TMF) at Gortmore, west of Silvermines village. The Magcobar Mine Site, Shallee Lead Mine as well as the mining sites at Garryard and Silvermines Village are also prominent in the long history of mining at Silvermines.
In 1999,following a number of cattle deaths from lead poisoning in the area, an Inter Governmental Agency Group (IAG) was established to investigate the presence and influence of lead on animal and human health in the area. The Group's report, "Report of the Investigation into the Presence and Influence of Lead in the Silvermines area of County Tipperary" was published in 2000. The investigation found that Silvermines is a safe place in which to live and work, but there were a number of recommendations, one of which required the then Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources to prepare management and rehabilitation plans for all mine sites within the Silvermines region, an area of approximately 2,300ha.
The Department appointed SRK (UK) Ltd. to prepare conceptual designs for the management and rehabilitation of the sites. In 2002,the
Management and Rehabilitation of the Silvermines Area was published by SRK Consulting of Cardiff, Wales.
Five specific sites were identified as requiring treatment:
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Magcobar Mine site:
The Magcobar mining company operated an open-cast barite mine at Garryard West-Gortshaneroe between 1963 and 1993 (Map 3). The surface area of the open-cast mine is approximately 15 hectares and the excavation approximately 70m deep with a capacity of 7 million cubic metres or thereabouts. The excavation has largely filled with surface and ground water since the mine closure in 1993.
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Shallee Lead MineMining was carried out in the Shallee area, three km west of Silvermines in the 19th century. The Silvermines Lead and Zinc Company re-commenced mining in 1949 and these workings continued until 1953. The Shallee mine re-opened in 1955 and finally closed in 1958, producing, during that period in excess of 350,000 tonnes of ore. The tailings associated with historic mining here are not acid-generating and some currently sustain grass and shrub growth.
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Mining Complex at Silvermines VillageCalamine (Zinc Oxide) was mined in the 19th and early 20th century at Ballygowan near Silvermines village in the area between the Knockanroe and Lahid roads. Mine buildings and tailings are evident in this area where the Silvermines Lead and Zinc Co. established a processing plant in the early 1950's to treat waste from the earlier phases of mining. Production of Calamine ceased in 1951.
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Mining Complex at GarryardMogul operated a major base-metal mine at Garryard from 1968-1982 producing in excess of 10 million tonnes of ore. The mine-works site includes settlement ponds, a tailings lagoon and the mill where ore processing operations were carried out prior to export of concentrates for smelting.
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Mogul Tailings Management Facility at Gortmore,BallywilliamThe Tailings Management Facility for the mine is at Gortmore, some 3kms to the west of the Garryard Site. Mogul of Ireland mined zinc and lead at this site and these minerals were both privately and State-owned. The State-owned minerals were worked under a State Mining Lease that was valid for 33 years from 1965 to December 1998. Production at the mine ceased in 1982.
Avoca
In September 2010 the Minister published the report for the feasibility of managing the Avoca Mine site. This can be downloaded as PDF files from:
About Avoca:
The Avoca river, Co.Wicklow which flows southwards through the Avoca mine site is overlooked by upland areas known as the East and West Avoca mine areas. The mine area was subdivided into a number of properties in the 18th and 19th centuries, each named after the townlands in which they were located. From northeast to southwest, these were Connary, Cronebane, Tigroney on the eastern side of the river, and Ballygahan and Ballymurtagh on the western side. The East and West Avoca division is a relatively recent one.
Since 1720, mining has played a large role in the economy of Avoca, Co.Wicklow. Among the minerals produced in the last two centuries, copper has been primarily mined along with silver and to a lesser extent gold.
Pollution of the Avoca River by mine water discharging from drainage adits of abandoned copper and sulphur mines at Avoca, Co.Wicklow, Ireland, is a long-recognised problem. In addition there is diffuse flow into the river. The river is severely affected by the mine water and is considered by the EPA to be the most severely polluted stretch of river in Ireland. Many studies have taken place in recent years relating to the Avoca River and its remediation. Among these, the University of Newcastle, in connection with the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, produced a report in July 2003 entitled Restoring the Avoca River. The preferred option for remediation was active treatment. However this can only be applied to the point discharges and does not take into account the diffuse flow and contaminated river sediments which are also contaminating the river quality.
The CDM report completed in December 2008 recommends active treatment of the point discharges into the Avoca River as well as treating the principal (spoil piles) cause of the contamination. This Feasibility study also recognizes the importance of the diffuse flow and contaminated sediments and provides solutions for these also.
Allihies & Bunmahon
The Exploration and Mining Division have been responsible for the "making safe" of several mine shafts in both the Allihies area, Co.Cork and the Bunmahon area, Co.Waterford. The Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland has been particularly involved in the conservation of the internationally unique Man Engine House at the Mountain Mine in Allihies.
Coalfields - Slieve Ardagh, Arigna and Leinster
The Exploration and Mining Division has responsibilities in relation to the safety aspects of certain historic coal mines in the Castlecomer (Co.Kilkenny), Slieve Ardagh (Co.Tipperary) and Arigna (Cos. Leitrim, Roscommon) Coalfields.
In recent years, a number of historic workings have been made safe.