THE £165 million Lisheen mining development near Thurles, Co Tipperary, was finally granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanala, yesterday. Construction work is expected to begin next month.

The mine, the largest base metal mine in Ireland for the past 20 years, is being developed jointly by Minorco Lisheen Ltd and Ivernia West. It is expected to be operating within 18 months to two years and will employ up to 700 people during construction.

The mine will employ up to 350 people and has a life expectancy of 14 years. Its annual projected out-put of zinc concentrates is 300,000 tonnes, with 40,000 tonnes of lead.

Ivernia West's managing director, Mr David Hough, said last night that the group was very confident it could increase the mine's 18 million tonnes of reserves to beyond 20 million tonnes.

Mr Hough said the group was delighted that the planning permission had come through. It is understood that there are 45 conditions attached. He said the conditions were largely the same as those which had been laid down by the Tipperary County Council (North Riding) when it granted permission for the project last August.

There were five objections to the development, including one from Ivernia/Minorco. It appealed against a condition that it contribute £4.1 million for upgrading the roads and local infrastructure. This figure has been reduced by around £600,000.

Mr Hough admitted that getting the mine to this stage had been a long struggle the mine was first discovered in 1990. The company had hoped to have the project underway around February, but the planning board extended its decision period.

Mr Hough said the company would work with local people and would ensure the development was carried out in an environmentally friendly fashion. He added that the mine would have an annual wage bill of around £10 million and would help to create ancillary employment in areas supplying those directly employed on the project

Mr Hough said the price of zinc had been rising recently and was now steady. The general trend was upwards, he said. The company hopes to be able to take advantage of this trend when it begins production.

Arcon International has begun mining its orebodies just a few miles away. However, Mr Hough said he did not see potential for a link-up between the companies, stressing that they were two stand-alone operations.

He said it was Ivernia's intention to develop other projects abroad, as well as Lisheen. He said the company was fully funded to develop its interests abroad and he wanted it to become a major player in base metals.

Discussions are currently underway with the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications regarding granting the state mining leases.

The group is currently evaluating tenders from major international construction companies to build the mine and its milling facility. The contracts are expected to be awarded within the next few weeks.