Tara mines "temporarily" stop

[Lev Pavliuk]

http://www.rte.ie/news/2023/0613/1389003-tara-mines-jobs/

Edited June 13, 2023 by Lev Pavliuk
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[Mayner]

Its a bit rich with the local politicians expressing their 'shock and disappointment' at the news that Boliden is to 'temporarily cease' production and exploration at Tara.

Closure of Tara mines has been on the cards for the last 15 or so years, at one stage it was estimated that the mine would be exhausted by 2010, recent exploration (Tara Deep) and re-working of the original ore body was estimated to extend the life of the mine into the mid 2020s. 

The same politicians should have been looking for the past 20 or so years for alternative industries to replace the mine.

 

[Ironroad]

Maybe a play to get an energy deal from the government which is understandable.  Per one comment this morning there are significant adjacent reserves.

[skinner75]

They mentioned the price of zinc currently being low, so no point in mining something if the return isn't great

[DJ Dangerous]

Time to open a mushroom farm, running track, motorsport circuit, spa and concert hall:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76571/15-adaptive-re-uses-old-mines

[Lev Pavliuk]

30 minutes ago, Ironroad said:

Maybe a play to get an energy deal from the government which is understandable.  Per one comment this morning there are significant adjacent reserves.

do you mean zinc reserves in storage? It is also worth remembering that the cessation of production in the mines will be carried out within 4 weeks, so if we talk in the context of the railway, then the trains will most likely run for quite a long time, it is worth remembering BnM

[skinner75]

Unless there was a drop in the price of zinc & it makes more sense to sit on it till the price comes back up

[Branchline121]

I'm gonna have to hope it's up and running again soon, this could really damage our local (Meath) economy. I wonder what will happen to the Navan-Drogheda line now?

[Lev Pavliuk]

14 minutes ago, Branchline121 said:

I'm gonna have to hope it's up and running again soon, this could really damage our local (Meath) economy. I wonder what will happen to the Navan-Drogheda line now?

Tara mines already closed before, maybe 10-15 years ago, i don't sure 

[Sean]

6 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Time to open a mushroom farm, running track, motorsport circuit, spa and concert hall:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76571/15-adaptive-re-uses-old-mines

calm down chap they havent closed the doors yet 

[Broithe]

We all just need to do our bit and buy more die-cast models.

[Darrman]

How often are there railtours down to Navan anyway? I would like to travel down the Navan branch at least once...

[Lev Pavliuk]

4 hours ago, Darrman said:

How often are there railtours down to Navan anyway? I would like to travel down the Navan branch at least once...

Probably once in 50 years

[Blaine]

16 hours ago, Darrman said:

How often are there railtours down to Navan anyway? I would like to travel down the Navan branch at least once...

Wont happen sadly, I'm happy I was on the last 'official' one - in 1996. The amount of trespassing that would occur now to get photos and videos , Irish Rail just wont have it 

[Ironroad]

On 14/6/2023 at 11:42 AM, Lev Pavliuk said:

do you mean zinc reserves in storage? It is also worth remembering that the cessation of production in the mines will be carried out within 4 weeks, so if we talk in the context of the railway, then the trains will most likely run for quite a long time, it is worth remembering BnM

Refer to the report published by Boliden about 18 months ago. https://www.boliden.com/490e8a/globalassets/operations/exploration/mineral-resources-and-mineral-reserves-pdf/2021/bol_main-1847699-v1-resources-and-reserves-tara-mines-2021-12-31.pdf 

Significantly they said  "The newly discovered deposit, termed ‘Tara Deep’ is located approximately 1km southeast of the main mine and is currently a major focus for exploration and development"

For what it's worth my opinion is that the current strategy of Boligen is two fold, (a) drive up the price of zinc and (b) to secure a deal on the price of energy from the government.  While this causes great anguish to their employees in the short to medium term, nonetheless I  think the mine is quite important to them in the longer term..

Edited June 15, 2023 by Ironroad
typo

[Mayner]

Exploration for the "Tara Deep" mine was severely disrupted by flooding last year and which may be a factor in the decision to mothball the mine.

The mining industry are past masters at manipulating governments to their own advantage.

Every 3-4 years the New Zealand Government and Rio Tinto get into a ritual standoff over energy costs for Tiwi Aluminum Smelter in Southland, with Rio Tinto threatening to pull out and the Government claiming it cannot afford to continue subsidising the smelters energy costs. Public opinion is turning increasingly against the Government subsidising of the smelter as a very expensive way of supporting 1,400 jobs. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiwai_Point_Aluminium_Smelter

[skinner75]

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/zinc-price-slide-claims-first-victim-irish-mine-closes-2023-06-20/