Dalradian ship 15,000 tonnes of Tyrone gold to US months after staff said they couldn't

'A shed full of gold ore' extracted from the Sperrins by Dalradian Gold

Dalradian Gold has shipped 15,000 tonnes of high grade gold ore to the US to be smelted down and sold.

Yet during a tour of the company’s Tyrone site last September, a staff member told the Mail nothing could be done with gold removed from the Sperrin Mountains “until we have a licence for a mine”.

A report in Washington State newspaper The Olympian said on February 22 that a shipment of gold ore from Northern Ireland was due to arrive on Friday, February 24.

“The customer is Northern Ireland’s Dalradian Gold Ltd, which loaded the ship Trinity Borg with 15,000 tons of the stuff,” the story said.

It went on to explain how “ore will be unloaded into dump trucks” before being hauled “to its final destination: a smelter in the Eastern Washington community of Republic” - a job expected to take 42 workers a month, day and night.

When the Mail asked Dalradian what would be done with the gold, their spokesperson said it would be sold.

But Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy, which licenced Dalradian to prospect for gold in the Province, said: “They are not permitted to sell or otherwise dispose of minerals worked except for the purpose of ascertaining the character or value of same.