Current Position of the Just Say No To Lignite Campaign

Currently Felix Resources appear to have turned their focus to open cast mining in Australia, at least for the time being. However, the fact is that a lignite reserve is present in North Antrim and so the community must remain focused on what could happen, weeks, months or years into the future.

The main issues which the directors of COLD are currently occupied with or observing can be summarised as follows:

• It is worth noting that a three year moratorium placed on lignite prospecting in North Antrim by the D.E.T.I. is due to end soon. Technically this could allow any company to step in and re-ignite the whole issue.
• No moratorium has ever been in place governing applications for an actual mining license. There is a very real fear that mining companies could be doing the groundwork 'behind closed doors', hence need for ongoing vigilance.
• In 2006 the planning service launched the Draft Northern Area Plan (dNAP), which sets out the government's planning strategy up to 2016. The North Antrim lignite reserve certainly gets a detailed mention in this, and worryingly the planners have chosen to 'protect the resource for future exploitation'. Click here for further details on the Draft Northern Area Plan.