Beyond extractivism in Northern Ireland

Gold mining

It’s hard to believe there’s gold mining in Northern Ireland. But the beautiful Sperrin Mountains are meant to “contain one of the world's most significant undeveloped gold deposits as well as substantial quantities of silver, copper and other minerals”. It’s no wonder that slogans such as “Northern Ireland is open for business” have attracted attention when presented at international mining conferences.

The Cavanacaw mine, owned by Galantas, has been extracting gold resources just outside the Sperrin Mountains for over a decade. It’s had a big impact on this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and its local communities, with endless lorry loads of rock and dust as well as blasting operations ruining the quiet, rolling mountains and beautiful nature. The mine has also exposed employees to potentially fatal health and safety risks and was fined £120,000 in 2018 as a result.

Now, the company Dalradian wants to develop a new underground gold mine, which would be the biggest of its kind in Europe. Called the Curraghinalt project, it threatens precious places such as the Owenkillew and Owenreagh rivers, which contain several protected species including the freshwater pearl mussel. It also risks contaminating the soil, air and water.

But communities from across Northern Ireland have been fighting back. Action groups have formed, campaigns have started, halls have filled with hundreds of concerned citizens, and networks of friendship and global solidarity have grown. Over 50,000 objections were made to the mine’s proposal. 

In response to the public inquiry into the gold mine, Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland made representations alongside community groups such as Save Our Sperrins as third-party objectors. Our submissions related to the impact of this huge mine on the climate and the company’s dubious claims of carbon neutrality.

But the Planning Appeals Commission managing the inquiry has made the whole process of participation very unfair to the communities. Access to the proceedings have been extremely limited, and community representatives have received no support when providing evidence. The inquiry has also repeatedly been put on hold, and we’re still waiting on new dates. 

Minerals

27% of land in Northern Ireland is issued in prospecting licences. These licences are for the mining of minerals and metals such as lithium and are held by around 40 mining companies.

We intervened in Derry City and Strabane District Council’s legal challenge to a government decision to grant mineral prospecting licences. The licences would have allowed Flintridge Resources and Dalradian Gold to explore for minerals in over 700 km² of land, including Special Areas of Conservation.

We made written submissions in support of the council, arguing that the plans weren’t in the public’s interest and that much extractive activity is already taking place unrecorded. This could mean the environmental impact of further exploration is far worse than anticipated. In October 2024, the licences were quashed. 

Find out more about the legal challenge.

In 2025, we also responded to several licence applications submitted to the Department for the Economy, arguing that it should suspend processing these applications due to unlawfulness, ineffectual governance and prematurity.

Gas

Together with the No Gas Caverns campaign group, we stopped huge gas storage caves being mined under Larne Lough. Larne Lough is a Special Protection Area, a Ramsar Site and an Area of Special Scientific Interest. But the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs had approved the building of 7 enormous underground chambers to store gas. This would have created a marine "dead-zone" where no plants or animals could survive.

Thanks to our legal case, the marine licences for the project were quashed by the Court of Appeal in June 2024. And the Supreme Court sealed the deal in December 2024 when it refused an application to appeal from the Northern Ireland government.

Find out more about our work with No Gas Caverns.

We also helped stop the extension of the Kilroot gas power station in Belfast. We objected to the planning authority, outlining how fossil fuel expansion is at odds with Northern Ireland’s climate targets. Our complaint was then used as evidence in legal action taken by 5 clean energy companies against the development. They argued that the planning permission was unlawful, and the application was ultimately rescinded. 

Oil

We supported the Stop Whitehead Oil Terminal group throughout its campaign to prevent the expansion of an existing oil storage terminal on the coast of County Antrim. The expanded Cloghan Point facility would have stored oil for hundreds of petrol stations throughout Ireland, overrunning this quiet part of the coastline with hundreds of enormous tankers. This could have impacted protected marine habitats and species including ancient quahogs and kelp forests.

The group took a judicial review against the planning authority with help from The PILS Project. The planning authority conceded on the case and planning permission was rescinded. But a revised planning application has since been submitted with an updated environmental statement. So, the campaign to stop this harmful development continues.

Fracking

In December 2024, the government announced a complete ban on fracking in Northern Ireland. This decision stopped 2 live fracking applications and will prevent any new applications for oil and gas exploration and extraction being accepted. Almost overnight, Northern Ireland went from being a climate laggard to one of the most unwelcoming places in Europe for fossil fuel companies.

This momentous win came after years of campaigning against fossil fuel exploration and drilling, led by a thriving network of campaigners from across the country. Diversity was our strength, with the campaign bringing together many different communities, supported by our team in Northern Ireland.

The campaign to end fracking in Northern Ireland included:

• Three judicial reviews.
• A rally by thousands of farmers, fishers and other residents in County Fermanagh.
• A 4-month site battle for Woodburn Forest near Carrickfergus.
• Thousands of people lobbying politicians with legal and policy evidence.
• Successful challenges to several injunctions against water protectors by fossil fuel companies.

Local people demonstrated that they’d go to enormous lengths to protect the places where they live. We also learnt from experienced campaigners fighting fossil fuel extraction overseas, who taught us the importance of stopping the first drill. The connections between campaigning groups at home and across the globe epitomised the environmental justice movement: one group’s struggle is everyone’s struggle.