The Government has begun a new phase of engineering investigations at the Gortmore Tailings Management Facility in the Silvermines area of north Tipperary, more than 15 years after a major State-funded rehabilitation programme was carried out at the site.
The recent investigation began on 15 June 2026. It includes surveying, borehole drilling, geotechnical testing and sampling to assess the stability of the facility. The findings will then be used for computer-based stability modelling, with an action plan expected in early 2027 setting out any further measures that may be required.
The work is being carried out by MKO Environmental Consultants on behalf of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment at a projected cost of €274,905. A separate contract for the stability modelling is expected to be awarded in autumn.
Mining in Silvermines dates back more than 1,000 years, while modern mining for lead, zinc, copper, silver, barite and sulphur continued until the final mine closed in 1993. At the Gortmore facility, operations by Mogul Mines resulted in approximately eight million tonnes of mine tailings being deposited across an area of around 60 hectares.
The closure of the mines created significant environmental problems. With the tailings drying out, dust blows were recorded in the years following the closure, including major incidents in 1984 and 1985. The waste contained elevated concentrations of metals including lead, zinc and other contaminants, creating concerns over the potential movement of material through both air and water.
The State eventually undertook a major rehabilitation programme, with the Gortmore works carried out principally between 2008 and 2010. The tailings were capped and revegetated, drainage was improved and associated wetlands were subject to remedial works. The aim was to contain the waste, prevent further dust problems and reduce the movement of contaminants but the rehabilitation did not remove the underlying waste, and millions of tonnes of mine tailings (fine-grained waste materials) remain at Gortmore beneath the engineered cover.
The site has continued to be monitored since the rehabilitation works, with environmental monitoring and periodic geotechnical inspections taking place over the years, including dedicated Gortmore assessments in 2020, 2024 and 2025.
The wider Silvermines rehabilitation programme was also never entirely completed. Plans for a separate engineered Mine Waste Management Facility for waste from other parts of the former mining area were postponed in 2011 following the economic downturn. A 2018 Government-commissioned review subsequently recommended that the outstanding phase of the rehabilitation programme should be addressed.
The current investigation therefore does not represent the first time Gortmore has been examined since its rehabilitation, instead, it is a new and more detailed engineering assessment of a facility containing huge amounts of historic mine waste.
The Government has not said that the facility is currently unstable or that a major failure is imminent. The purpose of the present investigation is to establish its condition and provide the engineering information needed to determine whether further intervention is necessary. Depending on the findings, the next stage could range from continued monitoring and maintenance, to more substantial remedial works.
For a site that underwent a multi-million-euro rehabilitation programme more than 15 years ago, the results of the latest investigation will provide an important indication of whether the engineering measures put in place at Gortmore remain sufficient for the long-term management of the historic mine waste.
