[Ian7]

On Sunday afternoon, I was out in the garden and noticed a nice little aircraft flying low overhead but didn't think anything of it until i spotted a notice in the back of today's Enniscorthy Echo regarding a Low flying airborne survey over Wexford and Wicklow by a group named Hendrick Resources which immediately set alarm bells ringing. Well, here it is their home page.

http://www.hendrickresources.com/

An international group who will probably claim to have Irish interests at heart and who could be, as their page suggests potentially carrying out "geological prospecting, geochemical sampling, ground geophysical surveying and diamond drilling". Also Note the last line "Each phase of work would be completed with the agreement of any landowners/stakeholders that may be affected."

Their map shows the route flying directly along the Blackstairs and the hinterland to the east.

Would love to know how people feel about this. I really can't see this being a good thing. Imagine the visual effects on the landscape around the Blackstairs and the possible effect it could have on the water table, major water courses and also air quality.

[arseagon]

I don't see what your problem is? At the moment there is no mining going on and any in the future would have to be done under strict regulations if they were to be given planning permission to do so.

[Ian7]

Originally Posted by arseagon

I don't see what your problem is? At the moment there is no mining going on and any in the future would have to be done under strict regulations if they were to be given planning permission to do so.

I'm just making people aware of what could possibly happen. There's alot of interest in whats under Ireland lately because of diminishing resources elsewhere. An Australian firm is planning a Gas extraction in Leitrim and another crowd in Fermanagh using a highly controversial method called fracking. Besides the obvious environmental concerns, both of those could potentially be another "Corrib" situation where the government hands over everything, lock, stock and barrel. I know this crowd aren't hunting for gas but open cast mining for solid resources is a possibility and sure, we have strict regulations on paper but would you really put 100% faith in planners to say no to this? There has to be public awareness and opinion involved in the matter too or would you rather we all just turn a blind eye and wait until they are in there and then say "ou, how did they ever get planning for that eh, oh well."

[zerks]

There's gold in them there hills,I'm off with my pick,shovel & pan to get it first.

[allthedoyles]

Thats a seriously massive project .............100kms long x 20km wide

From my experience , I've seen at first-hand the damage that is done underground .

I was taken on an underground tour of the Galmoy Mines in Co. Kilkenny , and the size of the mining is massive .

Its stretches for miles , and when you think of all the houses above your head , it would make you wonder why it is allowed .

From an envoronmental point-of-view , it is well controlled overground by the EPA .
But the damage done underground is massive .

[vicwatson]

Hey all, we are broke, the country needs the money....

Oh no hang on, we are just gonna give them natural resources away just like the oil and gas..(and soon to be forests) we don't need the money anymore....

[allthedoyles]

Exactly -- It will do little for the Irish Exchequer , except create a few jobs .
Some years ago , the mine in Kilkenny let go Irish workers and took on non-Irish , mainly from the Far-East .( Malaysia / Philipines )

[Ian7]

exactly. I'm also worried about any open cast mining in that area too as the Blackstairs range is one of the most beautiful landscapes in our region.

Also, the map on the website shows the survey area in red but that's only an initial survey area from what I can see.

[BarryD]

Hmm!, thanks for bring that to our notice. I'm particularly interested as I'm currently making a detailed map of Mount Leinster & Blackstairs etc. You might recall that back in the 1990's there was a large campaign against opencast mining on Slieve Bawn nr. the Nine Stones - wasn't gold in that case as far as I recall. Spawned the Friends of Mount Leinster and brought Mary White to regional and later national prominence.

There's a long history of searching for gold near Arklow, including a gold rush by local prospectors in the late 1700's. I happened to be in the National Museum recently and they have nuggets and gold grains from the area on display. The British government of the day kicked the locals off and sought to mine it - various reports of how much they extracted or didn't extract. They also tried to locate the motherlode on the mountain from whence the gold was being washed into the streams, reportedly without success.

So it's right to be wary, imho. It's one thing locating a vein or lode of valuable mineral and then mining in a confined area. But another if gold and other valuable minerals are spread more thinly and require large quantities of rock to be mined, crushed etc., with a view to extracting small deposits. With the price of gold the way it is at present.....

[allthedoyles]

There is gold in Cathaoirs Den beside Mount Leinster ...........the robber , he buried it there in 1735 .

Many have been there looking for it but , no luck yet .

I might pay the household charge , but count me in if their is a campaign to stop this around my original homeland

[Ian7]

count me in if their is a campaign to stop this around my original homeland

Cool, I suppose we start by getting some more info from that resource company. I'll send them an email over the weekend.

[OldeCinemaSoz]

They can mine away in my backyard...

I'm not promising what they'll find though!

[BarryD]

This has been brought to my attention with regard to possible Lithium deposits in Carlow/Wexford - seems it's associated with a mineral called pegmatite, which is found in this district. We have some crystals in the large granite lintel over fireplace:
http://internationallithium.com/s/ireland.asp

You can download a pdf doc from here, showing survey sites etc.

Obviously just prospecting licences, but might be also worthwhile reading about Bolivia's experience of lithium mining..
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/03/22/100322fa_fact_wright

[allthedoyles]

So there is gold in them hills :

Dale is confident that, favourable geology and historical presence of gold occurrences in place , the area hosts a major world-class deposit.

To this end a major, potential gold belt is recognized between Wicklow and southeast to New Ross

source:
http://www.hendrickresources.com/

[vicwatson]

Was this the low flying plane flying from south east to north west direction over Rosslare on Sat and Sun mornings last, about 11/12 am ??