| Northern Ireland road salt resources
will only stretch to two more winters, according to the salt
mine that supplies the Roads Service.
Salt reserves in the Carrickfergus mine are almost exhausted
and will be gone by 2012 unless it gets the go-ahead to start
extending tunnels towards Ballycarry, mine owners Irish
Salt Mining and Exploration Co Ltd said.
Ireland’s only salt mine centres on Kilroot in Carrickfergus
and exploits the eastern edge of what was once a land-locked
stretch of sea that eventually evaporated. It produces 500,000
tons of road salt every year which is transported throughout
Ireland, across to England and even to New York.
Workers battled round the clock during the recent cold snap
to keep salt supplies flowing at a time when district councils
in England were running short. However, the mine warned that
salt supplies in the existing mining operations are running
low.
It has applied for planning permission to extend north-west
towards Ballycarry and carry out blasting operations below
land containing 40 homes. The company employs 54 full-time
workers and is one of only three salt mines in the UK.
In an environmental statement submitted as part of the planning
application, it warned - 'The remaining salt reserves in
the existing permitted mine areas will be depleted by 2012.
If planning permission was refused for the proposed extension,
both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would no
longer have an indigenous operational rock salt source. Northern
Ireland would no longer have a plentiful supply of rock salt
for road de-icing during winter months'.
The company has already undertaken tests on lands in the
proposed new mine area, which have confirmed the presence
of large salt deposits.
It added - 'Results from the exploratory drilling exercise
established that there are significant resources of salt within
the proposed mine extension area'.
A mine extension would create 10 additional jobs and would
require £20m to be invested over its lifetime, it said.
“Applications for planning permission are a standard part
of any mining operation, extending the licensed area as one
area becomes worked out,” the company told the Belfast
Telegraph.
“The reason for submitting the application now is to ensure
that the new area can be developed and be operational in time
to avoid any disruption to supplies. There have been various
consultations with local residents over the past couple of
years to answer questions and ensure that any concerns are
properly addressed.
“Local residents have also been invited to visit the mine
to see the operation for themselves.
“The Carrickfergus mine is the only road salt mine in either
Northern Ireland or Eire. The severity of this winter has
emphasised the critical importance of having a local supply.
The new permission is a routine step in securing supplies
for the future.”
Resident Len McAuley who lives off Bridgend Road above where
blasting has been taking place, told the Carrickfergus
Advertiser he had some misgivings about extending the
tunnels. “I think they have to stop it somewhere. They need
the salt, but they can’t just keep taking everything out -
it leaves a cavity and it affects the water table,” he said.
However, neighbour Tom Wallace said he did not oppose the
application, even though he hears explosions from the mine
every day. “Men have to work and you have to salt the roads.
People need the salt. I have no objections,” he said.
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