Five of seven mineral prospecting licences (MPLs) granted in Northern Ireland earlier this year have been relinquished, meaning prospecting under those licences will be paused for at least three months.
An MPL grants the holder permission to carry out activities like surveys and test drilling in a specific area.
It covers minerals like copper and zinc, but not gold and silver as these belong to the Crown Estate.
The seven licences were granted to four companies, including Dalradian Gold, in May. The four companies cover areas in at least three counties – Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh.
The announcement from the Department for the Economy (DfE) comes as a deadline to lodge papers for any legal challenge is set to expire.
A statement from the Department added that it had been instructed by Minister Caoimhe Archibald to write to the court to confirm it would not oppose the granting of leave for a judicial review if papers were lodged.
And she has also instructed “to advise the objectors and the court that it will write in support of any application to quash the remaining two licences”.
The applications may be resubmitted, followed by a 12-week consultation period.
While the seven licences were granted in May, a public notice of the intention to grant them was not published in the Belfast Gazette, as required by law.
The Belfast Gazette is an official journal of record where statutory notices are published, as well as the King’s honours lists.
DfE previously said the notices were passed to the Gazette but were not published.
The four companies – Dalradian Gold, Conroy Gold, Karelian Diamond Resources, and Flintridge Resources – were then asked to relinquish the licences, which they agreed to do.
DfE is awaiting confirmation from the holder for the remaining two licences.
The licences would allow holders to prospect for minerals, excluding gold and silver.
It could lead to full-time mining operations at a later date.
