00:00For the past six years, Dalradian has been exploring the Coronyalt gold deposit in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland,
00:11one of the world's top undeveloped gold deposits by grade.
00:15Our aim is to build something that Northern Ireland can be proud of, a modern underground mine that uses world-class technologies while respecting the environment.
00:25The proposed mine is located 13 miles from the town of Oma, close to the communities of Greencastle, Ruski and Gortian.
00:41The infrastructure site is in a natural hollow in the hillside, partially screened by trees, which minimises noise and visual impact.
00:55All mining takes place underground.
01:03Rock is drilled and blasted, and approximately half of the non-economic rock is moved underground into mined-out voids as backfill.
01:11The remaining mined rock is brought up from the underground mine and transported by truck along a site road that is screened by a grassy mound to minimise noise, dust and visual effects.
01:22Non-economic rock is separated and placed in the mine waste storage facility.
01:28The gold-bearing rock, called ore, is then crushed and ground into fine particles, before a liquid flotation process separates the gold-containing particles from the non-gold-bearing material.
01:40The non-gold-bearing material is managed in two ways. Half is made into dry-stack tailings by filtering to remove water for reuse and is placed as dry-stack tailings in the mine waste storage facility.
01:54The rest of the non-gold-bearing material is returned underground as part of a cemented paste backfill.
02:00Cemented paste backfill solidifies in mined-out areas and provides support within the mine workings.
02:06The remaining 10% of material from the flotation process is gold-containing particles, which are treated in a rigorously managed and fully contained cyanide solution process to extract the gold.
02:20Gold dore bars, bricks of semi-pure mixed precious metal, will be poured approximately twice a week.
02:32The remaining small amounts of solids and liquid that have come in contact with cyanide are treated to reduce cyanide levels below regulatory limits and in keeping with the International Cyanide Management Code.
02:45This treated material is added to the non-gold-bearing material from the flotation process and returned underground in cemented paste backfill.
02:54The mine waste storage facility stores the non-economical rock from the mine that won't be returned underground and the dry-stack tailings.
03:03It has been designed to blend in with the surrounding landscape and will be progressively covered in soil and planted during the life of mine.
03:15All water used on site or coming in contact with the site will be treated in a purpose-built water treatment facility.
03:30Water will be recycled as much as possible and anything discharged from the site will fully comply with the regulatory limits set by the authorities.
03:40Other surface buildings include offices, workshop, a warehouse, laboratory, changing room and a mine rescue training building.
03:52Explosives will be managed safely and will be stored underground for the majority of project life.
03:58The proposed mine is expected to provide employment for at least a generation, creating about 300 jobs during the construction phase and approximately 350 jobs during operations.
04:11A closure plan will be prepared in consultation with stakeholders so that once the mine's working life is over, the site will be rehabilitated and the land reclaimed in a way that is in keeping with the landscape and the characteristics of the local area.
04:26A full planning application including an environmental impact assessment is being developed and will be submitted in the coming months.
Be the first to comment