Tara Mines contractors warned weeks ago they were 'being let go'

Meath-based Padraig Fitzsimons, who sits on Navan Municipal Council, said he was told by some of the contractors that they were told on May 31 they were “being let go”

Contractors at Boliden Tara Mines just outside Navan, Co Meath, were warned weeks ago they were going to be let go, according to a local councillor.

Meath-based Padraig Fitzsimons, who sits on Navan Municipal Council, said he was told by some of the contractors that they were told on May 31 they were “being let go”.

Although he does not know the exact figure, he estimates there are about 200 contractors.

This is on top of the 650 jobs that are being laid off by Tara Mines, which opened in 1977 and which now produces more than 2m tonnes a year.

With nearly 250km of active tunnels, it is classed as the biggest zinc mine in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

News broke on RTÉ on Tuesday night the company was to temporarily close the mine and to temporarily lay off 650 employees.

Siptu’s Michael Fitzgerald said the decision came as a “big shock” to workers.

Union representatives met with the management of the mines on Wednesday to request the company reconsider its decision to cease operations at the facility and lay off staff.

Siptu TEAC division organiser Adrian Kane said: “Management has said it will reflect on the position of the unions and revert to us as soon as possible. Once we have received this reply, whether it is positive or not, union representatives will begin a wider engagement with our membership on what should be done next.”

According to the Boliden Summary Report of Tara Mines Resources and Reserves 2021, the mineral reserve quantity represented “an equivalent amount for seven years of full production”.

The report also stated that, with planned conversion of mineral resources, it “has the potential to be extended further”.

Inflation coupled with energy costs, which are understood to include a €3m-a-week electricity bill, is understood to be behind the decision to temporarily shut the plant down.

Paddy Fitzsimons, whose family runs a pub on Trimgate Street in Navan, said he knew many of the contractors. 

“The workers are devastated,” he said.

“They and the rest of the community are just floored by this news.

“Two weeks, on a Thursday I think, contractors were told they were going to be let go.

So as well as the 650 workers in the mines, there's another maybe 200 people or more contractors out there as well and then it's their families and the businesses who rely on them.” 

Having seen two major shutdowns in Tara Mines history since the 1970s, he believes this latest one will last months rather than weeks.

“It's going to be a bit of a bleak period, to be honest,” he said.

“I would hope the way the economy is, there's likely to be alternative work in the short term for guys and construction or other jobs just to keep them going while there's a temporary closure.

“I certainly hope that it’s a temporary closure.

“I don’t think, with the discovery of a new rich source a few years back, I can’t see the mining company walking away but I’d say they will bide their time.

“They have done this before.”