Work continues to stem flooding of Tara Mines

Efforts are continuing at Tara Mines today to stem the flood of water into the mine, which has halted production.

In a statement yesterday the company said “It is at present unclear how long the stop in production will be.”

The news was described as “concerning” by Senator Shane Cassells, who is expected to raise the issue in the Seanad today.

“I hope that the efforts to halt the flow of water are successful and that all the equipment and production areas area can be safely secured. And most importantly that the teams doing this work stay safe.

“Tara Mines is massively important to the local economy with 700 people directly employed and many hundreds more employed as a result of its existence,” he said.

Boliden Tara Mines said yesterday that while drilling a pilot raise bore hole for a ventilation shaft, a high flow of water was encountered, which caused production to be stopped. Inflow volumes are exceeding the capacity of the dewatering infrastructure.

“The production has been stopped to focus on protecting infrastructure and equipment, whilst also eliminating unnecessary addition of water into the mine,” according to a statement from the company.

John Regan of the SIPTU trade union said staff are reporting for work as normal and it is hoped that the problem will be fixed as soon as possible.