Local knowledge.
Global expertise.
We’re a mineral exploration and development company, supported by US investment. We’ve been working on the Curraghinalt polymetallic deposit in West Tyrone, Northern Ireland, since late 2009. We’ve done a lot in that time.
Since 2009, we've explored for a broad range of minerals in Northern Ireland including precious metals, base metals, critical minerals, and rare earths.
We’ve explored the area to understand the size and quality of the deposit, carried out engineering studies to gauge what is required to get it out, and economic studies to see how much it will cost.
We have also carried out extensive environmental studies to understand the local conditions and inform our plans to minimise our impact. These studies form the basis of our environmental monitoring programme, which will continue throughout the life of the mine and after its closure.
Our name invokes the Dalradian Supergroup, a geological structure that stretches from the Atlantic Coast of Donegal to the east coast of Scotland. The Sperrins is an outcrop of this supergroup, as are the Grampian Mountains in the Scottish Highlands. The geologists who first identified this structure in the 19th century adapted the name from a medieval Gaelic kingdom that once straddled the North Passage – Dál Riata.
Our team combines the local knowledge of geologists, environmental scientists, administrators and community workers from Northern Ireland with mine engineering and finance experience from the United States and Canada.
In November 2017, we submitted a planning application to Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure (DfI), requesting permission to build an underground mine. You can view the application at the Planning NI website using reference number LA10/2017/1249/F.
Watch Who are Dalradian?
Responsible Business
We take our responsibilities seriously. We have an obligation to ensure that the local and wider communities benefit from the mine. First and foremost, our operations adhere to high health, safety, and environmental standards. We promote sustainable practices throughout our business and foster positive relations with our staff, suppliers, and contractors. We believe respecting human rights and contributing to the positive realisation of rights is important for the operation of our business.
We've also created the Dalradian Community Fund (formerly known as the Tyrone Fund). It’s just one way of giving back to local people. So far, we have distributed over £1.2 million in grants to over 650 local community groups and healthcare providers.
Their work has helped to protect the local freshwater pearl mussel, reach out to older people in isolated parts of the countryside, and support the learning of local kids. We are also investing in the future of Tyrone’s young people in collaboration with local colleges. Our goal is to train local school leavers and provide a firm foundation for their future careers.
Our Responsible Business Report details our business, strategy, activities and performance in a number of areas, including the environment and support for its local community in Tyrone.
2023 Responsible Business Report
2022 Responsible Business Report
2021 Responsible Business Report
Responsible
Business
The Dalradian Community Fund
Dalradian has distributed over £1 million to local community groups and healthcare providers. We have set aside an additional £4 million, subject to planning approval, to cover our projected 20-year mine life.
Freshwater pearl mussel
Our funding helped to protect the Owenkillew River and the local freshwater pearl mussel that calls it home.
Community Development Association
Our support helped the local Community Development Association to build an Enviro Shed, a place for local groups to learn about the Sperrins’ unique ecology.
Carbon Neutral Organisation
We are constantly looking at ways to reduce our carbon emissions and what we can’t reduce is offset by supporting a certified project. We have also begun a native tree nursery project as part of our long-term plans for offsetting and progressive restoration at the proposed mine site.
Bursaries to South West College
Our bursaries support students who show a flair for entrepreneurship to continue their studies at South West College in Omagh.
750+ landowners have given us permission
to sample or access their property for exploration or environmental monitoring
Need for Minerals
Many of the actions needed to achieve global net zero targets by the middle of this century, whether it is reducing the use of fossil fuels, building more renewable energy infrastructure or switching to electric vehicles, will place a huge demand on mineral raw materials. Achieving climate change targets won’t be possible without the global mining sector and the essential minerals it provides.
To help address these issues, the UK government launched its first ever Critical Minerals Strategy in 2022. The strategy aims to ensure that minerals needed for the future are available in the quantities needed, extracted responsibly, and supported by well-functioning and transparent markets.
The initial list of 18 critical minerals was published in 2022 and is expected to be updated in 2024. A wider range of minerals are being reviewed for inclusion, including copper.
What minerals are critical?
Critical mineral lists around the globe continue to evolve based. Developed countries have implemented strategies to improve reliable access to critical raw materials and review their lists of targeted materials on an ongoing basis. Recent revisions of critical mineral lists from other jurisdictions have seen the addition of copper to the US and Japan lists as well as the EU’s Strategic Minerals List, while China includes gold on its list.
*Silver is a candidate mineral in the UK, EU, and US. Due to its importance in the green energy transition, it is expected to meet criticality thresholds in the future or be included as a strategic mineral on some lists.
Health & Safety
Health and safety is at the core of our corporate culture. We believe that no task, however important or pressing, should be carried out in an unsafe way.
We hold all our employees and contractors accountable for their health and safety performance and aim to exceed the relevant legislation, laws and international guidelines. Health and safety is built into our plans and designs. We provide the right information, training and supervision for everyone who works on the site, and support them with the resources and equipment to manage health and safety risks.
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A zero-harm target
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Regular task observation and risk assessments
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A system to report, manage, learn from injuries, illnesses and near misses
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A set of health & safety key performance indicators
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Systems for workforce participation in health & safety policy-making
Investors in People
Over the past 14 years, Dalradian has become part of the community.
We are committed to developing the skills of local people. Our training programmes have:
Provided over 17,000 hours of training to our employees over the past nine years.
Provided internships for 35 young people to experience the mining business first hand.
Developing programmes in collaboration with local colleges – partnerships that will continue throughout the life of the mine.
Leadership
Dalradian combines the local knowledge of geologists, environmental scientists, administrators and community workers from Northern Ireland with the mine engineering and finance expertise of our leaders from Canada and the US.
We are controlled by a private investment fund managed by Orion Resource Partners, a global alternative investment management firm with approximately $6 billion under management, much of it from US-based institutions.
Orion specialises in institutional metals and mining investment strategies in the base and precious metals space and believe the metals and materials industries are key to more sustainable infrastructure, energy and transportation solutions for the global economy.
Join our team
We want to hit the ground running when the project receives planning permission.
We will need a host of local people to help us get going.
Would you like to work with us?
Register your interest in joining our team
Can your business support our operations?
Register your interest in joining our supplier network
Your support matters
Support our plans to create jobs, strengthen the local community and respect the environment. The Department for Infrastructure will take your views into account. Help make our plans a reality.
Your letter of support will be sent directly to the Department for Infrastructure. Dalradian will not see your letter, nor any of your details.
Great things can happen with your support
Support our plans to create jobs, strengthen the local community and respect the environment. The Department for Infrastructure will take your views into account. Help make our plans a reality.
Customise a letter of support in two simple steps:
Provide your personal details
This will signal your support to the Department for Infrastructure. You can choose to keep these details private.
Tell the Department for Infrastructure why you support the project
Please tick all the elements you like about the proposed project.
Dalradian will not see your letter, nor any of your details. Your letter of support will be sent directly to the Department for Infrastructure