IVERNIA West and its partner in the Lisheen lead zinc mine project, Minorco, will lodge a planning application for the £117 million development early next week. If there are no difficulties with the application and there is no appeal against planning permission to Bord Pleanala, then the planning process could be completed within six months.
Ivernia chief executive Mr David Hough said yesterday that the group is hoping for a smooth passage through the planning permission process, with none of the delays that plagued Arcon's planning application for the adjoining Galmoy mine project.
"We hope we don't have to go through the process Arcon went through. We've been very thorough with this application and have liaised closely with local community groups, the Environmental Protection Agency and Tipperary County Council. We are meeting eight different groups on Thursday and Friday to brief them on our plans," Mr Hough said.
If there is no problem with the planning application and no appeal against planning permission, then construction work could begin in the second half of 1996. An appeal to Bord Pleanala could delay the construction start for a further five months. Mr Hough said that 750 people would be employed in the 18 month construction phase of the project with a further 350 mining jobs when the mine is operational.
The estimated cost of the mine is £117 million, making it one of the biggest construction projects in the country.
Most of the finance for the development will come from bank debt and Mr Hough has said that Ivernia has no plans for a rights issue to fund its share of the development cost. As well as having a 50 per cent stake in the Lisheen project, Minorco also has a 24.5 per cent stake in Ivernia itself. Another 24.5 per cent stake in Ivernia is held by the Finnish owners of Tara Mines, Outokumpu.
The Lisheen orebody has reserves of 20.8 million tonnes of ore grading 13.1 per cent zinc, 2.2 per cent lead and 30 grammes per tonne of silver. Lisheen is about three times larger than Arcon's Galmoy project, which is currently under construction, and will have an annual production of 1.5 million tonnes of ore. Both mines will account for 40 per cent of Europe's annual lead zinc concentrate production.
