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The Minister for Natural Resources, Conor Lenihan TD, has
launched Phase Two of the remediation works at the Gortmore
Tailings Management Facility, Silvermines, Co. Tipperary.
The contract will be undertaken by SIAC Construction Ltd.,
Ballycurreen Cross and Airport Road, Cork.
The Minister formally launched the project at the Gortmore
site in the presence of representatives of North Tipperary
County Council, the project design consultants, SRK Consulting,
the contractors and representatives of the Silvermines area
communities.
Minister Lenihan remarked that these works were the first
of their kind in Ireland. Complimenting North Tipperary County
Council and SRK Consulting on their roles in bringing the
project to this stage, he said - “Phase One of the remediation
works have been completed in 2008 - on time and within budget
- and that I have every confidence that Phase Two will mirror
that success.”
The site at Gortmore was used for the deposition of mine
tailings - a residue from the lead and zinc mining carried
out in the Silvermines area from the mid-1960s until 1982.
Since then, the Gortmore site - and other mining sites in
the area - have been the subject of studies and reports in
relation to any possible potential threat to the environment
and the local community.
In 2005, the Government decided that the State would undertake
the remediation of the former mining sites in the area, with
North Tipperary County Council acting as agents for the Department
of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.
The Phase I Contract was completed in December 2008. The
Phase 2 Contract will be substantially completed by the end
of 2009 with final soil placement and grass seeding in early
2010.
Minister Lenihan added - “A cooperative relationship has
been developed with the local communities in progressing the
remediation project to its current stage. The Government is
committed to working with the community in addressing the
environmental problems associated with the long history of
mining in the area.”
NOTES
The Gortmore Phase I Contract, completed in December
2008, involved the placement of a geotextile layer and a 300mm
stone capillary layer over approx. 20 hectares of the uncovered
surface area of the Tailings Management Facility.
The Phase 2 Contract will involve the placement of soil and
topsoil over the stone capillary layer and ancillary works
- including buttress strengthening, surface drainage works
and remedial works to surface ponds and wetlands.
The contract will be substantially completed by the end of
2009 with final soil placement and grass seeding in early
2010.
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