Tara Mines Owner's Comments Slammed For Being "Unhelpful"

Tuesday, 13 February 2024 07:09

More than 600 workers have experienced 213 days of layoff since the mine was placed in care and maintenance.

The owners of Tara Mines are being slammed for 'unhelpful' comments.

According to reports Boliden's CEO has said the Meath mine will have to close permanently if its not returned for profitability.

It comes as negotiations continue to return the mine to full capacity, after 600 workers were temporarily laid off last year.

John Regan from SIPTU says putting pressure on through the media is no way to do business.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, John Regan, says it's in poor taste to speculate on a dire future for the mine when reporting a nearly €.5 billion profit for the Boliden Group:

"The profitability of this company has been boosted by the Tara Mines operation over many years but little loyalty is being shown to its staff, who are currently relying on the state's social welfare system for unemployment benefit.

The report does not give a full breakdown of the financial position of Tara Mines.

It indicates that the operating loss from maintaining Tara Mines in a ‘care and maintenance’ situation, rather than fully operational, is estimated at around €13 million per quarter. If the company entered into talks with the unions earlier on a possible rescue plan for Tara Mines, the claimed losses could have been lessened and ‘care and maintenance’ could have been avoided."

SIPTU TEAC Division Organiser, Adrian Kane, says the reasons provided by the company for the temporary cessation of operations last year no longer apply:

"Forecasts, while always tentative, suggest that zinc prices will rise slowly over the next few years with some forecasters suggesting a rise of 10% by 2028 over last year’s level. Energy prices and the level of inflation have reduced significantly in the last six months and are projected to fall even further in 2024. Any remaining operational challenges to the reopening of the mine should be dealt with through collective input and agreement between the employer and the Tara Mines Group of Unions."

More than 600 workers have experienced 213 days of layoff since the mine was placed in care and maintenance during 2023.