The mineral extraction industry is one of the primary engines of capitalism and the climate crisis. It is driven by an ideology of consumption and exploitation; of the land and ecosystems it consumes, of the people it dispossesses and displaces, and of the workers whose labour it depends on. It provides the raw materials the capitalist system requires for its ceaseless expansion. The countless struggles against this parasitic industry across the globe are the front line against capitalism and the climate and ecologic crisis. Land and water defenders guard their communities and local ecosystems from destruction, and protect the whole world in the process.    

One such struggle centres on the small village of Greencastle in the heart of the Sperrins mountains in the North of Ireland, where for the past 9 years the local community have been fighting against a planned Gold Mine.

Last year members of Earth Strike UK, alongside the IWW Environmental Committee, visited the land defenders at Greencastle to learn about their struggle and hear how we can support them. We met members of Save Our Sperrins at the Greencastle Peoples Office (GPO), a small protest camp on the site of the proposed mine. The activists welcomed us warmly to the GPO with hot drinks and freshly baked food. They then told us everything they had been through in their 8 year long struggle, and why they are so determined to keep on fighting. They told us what was at stake and showed us the land they have fought so hard to defend.

The mine

The mine is being proposed by Dalradian, a Canadian mining company owned by Orion Mine Finance, an American investment fund. The mine would 900m deep and would 3.5 million ounces of gold, which is approximately 0.27% of the gold bullion held as reserves by central banks. The mine would operate for 20-25 years, after which Dalradian claim that they will return the site to its original condition, something which local activists do not believe is possible.

Impacts

Local community members fear that the mine would irreparably damage the landscape, threaten the health of the local residents, and poison the land, air and water near the mine. They told us, “we’ve not heard one good story from across the world about gold mining. Just pollution of the air, water, land and spreading poison. We don’t want that repeated here.”

One particular concern is the possible release of sulphuric acid into the waterways. Dalradian has applied for permission to discharge sulphuric acid into two local streams which feed the river Foyle, home to otters, salmon and rare freshwater pearl mussels.

Another possible contaminant is the waste rock from the mine. The tunnels would be excavated by blasting. Dust from blasting was seen blowing out of the vents when the test mine was being tunnelled. The resulting rubble would then be broken up and processed. Finally the remaining waste material would be kept on a waste heap. Activists are concerned that dry material could then be blown across the surrounding environment by the wind, or water could seep through collecting heavy metals and other harmful minerals, contaminating the waterways.

Alongside the contamination caused by the mine, there is also the physical damage the mine will do to the landscape. The majority of the mine would be underground, but there would also be a sizeable surface complex including a 17 metre high material processing plant, laboratory, accommodation block and a vast waste material stack, as well as a new road and power lines. There would also be a considerable security arrangement due to the storage of explosives on site. The currently rural landscape with delicate ecological features would become industrialised.

One such ecological feature is Seisceann Siuil, the Moving Bog. Peat bogs are a vital natural carbon store, however once drained they instead release carbon. Dalradian intends to drain and excavate the site of the mine. They have promised that the soil would be stored and used to restore the land once the mine has closed, however by this point the damage would already have been done.

Earlier proposals included the use of cyanide to process the gold. Dalradian now claims that would no longer happen on site and the raw gold ore would be transported overseas to be processed. Save Our Sperrins still find this unacceptable and have taken an internationalist outlook, with their chair Fidelma saying “Why should the poison from here be taken somewhere else? It shouldn’t be happening anywhere!”. This internationalist outlook has been reflected in the solidarity they share with other land and water defenders around the world. Greencastle has been visited by Locota water defenders from Standing Rock, Zapatistas from the Chiapas in Mexico, among others.

Land sovereignty and access is central to the struggles land and water defenders are facing around the world. This is another fight they share with the people of Greencastle. The proposed mine lies on the Green Road. A historically significant route and a popular walking area. A new road would be constructed around the site. In 2021 campaigners read a declaration which can now be found fixed to fence posts near the beginning of the site asserting the rights of their community to clear air, clean water, and access to the land, now and for all future generations.

The fight against Dalradian has been long and involved a variety of strategies. One of the most visible and long lasting of these is the Greencastle Peoples Office, a protest camp on the site of the proposed mine. The GPO consists of three caravans (two on the ground and one suspended in a tree) and acts as a meeting place, a physical barrier to any construction work, and a constant and visible reminder that the people of Greencastle will not give up without a fight; a point made abundantly clear by the many signs and banners fixed the the caravans and fences.

Save Our Sperrins have also taken direct action that has been successful in delaying and disrupting the construction of the mine, “They had their diggers here at one point, until we threw them out.” One of those who took direct action explains “We have lived here in the Sperrins all our lives and want our children and grandchildren to continue to be able to live in an un-poisoned land.”

Most direct action taken by Save Our Sperrins has been focused on the test mine, the first stage of the project a short distance from the planned mine complex where Dalradian has built an exploratory tunnel. In 2021 a member of SOS was arrested for chaining himself to the gates of the complex. On a separate occasion a man chained himself to a drill rig, forcing work to stop, and on another several activists climbed onto the roof of the complex.

The campaign has also been active in informing citizens about the risks of gold mining and encouraging them to submit planning objections: “We started by going door to door, getting maybe 30 objections a day”, At least 45,000 objections to the mine have been submitted, making it the most opposed planning application ever in Ireland, both North and South.

SOS community organising has not just focused on their immediate local area. They have held at least 60 public meetings throughout Ireland to inform people of the impacts of mining, to build support for their own struggle, and to support other communities who are facing the same threat. 25% of the North and 27% of the South of Ireland is covered by prospecting licences. They have helped set up anti-mining groups in several places and were involved in setting up the all-ireland group CAIM, Communities Against the Injustice of Mining.

In 2021 the government announced that the application to build the mine would be subject to a public inquiry. Following the conclusion of the inquiry, the Minister for Infrastructure will have the final say on if and when the gold can be extracted from the Sperrins. The inquiry had been due to take place in September, but was delayed due to confusion with an element of the application, which resulted in an application for two water abstraction licences to be withdrawn and resubmitted. will now begin on the 25th of January 2025. It is expected to run for 5 to 6 weeks.

The local organisers have been preparing hard for the inquiry, “been doing a lot of reading and writing, trying to get experts to help us and fundraising to help pay for the work of the experts.” They have so far raised £50,000 through donations and regular fundraising events. They still need more support to fund experts to contribute to the inquiry and give them the best possible chance. You can donate here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-our-sperrins-108907 

The struggle is not yet over, but had the brave activists of Save Our Sperrins not taken action it is likely there would already be a gold mine at Greencastle. It was clear to see that they will continue this fight until Dalradian is defeated, or until their deaths. This point was made over and over again by the banners leading up to the GPO, and most poignantly by a memorial to Oilver McCullagh, a member of Save Our Sperrins who passed away during the campaign. A memorial to him now stands directly in the path of the mine’s construction. The memorial reads “Preserve and cherish our land”.

Dalradian is prepared to split a community, scar the landscape and poison the land; all for a small fraction of the gold that has already been mined, processed and is sitting unused in the vaults of central banks around the world, it’s only purpose is to be a measure of the vast wealth of the ruling class and the state. But the true wealth of our land doesn’t lie in bank vaults or buried 900m below the ground, it is in the air we breathe, the ground we walk, the water we drink, and the community we make. Solidarity with the land defenders of the Sperrins Mountains!

Support Save Our Sperrins

Contribute to the crowdfunder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-our-sperrins-108907
Email: SaveOurSperrins@outlook.com
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