Latest news with #DepartmentForTheEconomy
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Some mineral prospecting paused as licences are relinquished
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. 'Back to square one' as gold mine inquiry is suspended
BBC News
07-08-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Netherleigh: Plans to convert old Stormont headquarters into nursing home
A developer is planning to convert the former headquarters of Stormont's Department for the Economy into a nursing Netherleigh complex in east Belfast was put on the market for £5.75m in six acre site includes the 19th century Netherleigh House and a 1970s office pre-application planning notice proposes conversion of those buildings. It would also involve building two new assisted living apartment blocks and a woodland proposals will be open for public consultation from 21 August to 5 Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) is in the process of reducing its office estate by 40% by selling buildings and ending for Economy staff moved to an office block in Belfast city centre in currently for sale include Clarence Court in Belfast City Centre, the former headquarters of the Department of Infrastructure.A decision is also due on whether Marlborough House in Craigavon, County Armagh, should be 1970s office block is due to be vacated by civil servants and a listing could complicate efforts to find a new use for the site.
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Trump's trade tariffs 'to hit NI growth and jobs'
A US tariff of 10% on UK goods could cost the Northern Ireland economy £85m and 800 jobs over the next 15 years, a Department for the Economy study has does not mean the economy will shrink in absolute terms, rather it will be smaller than it would have been if the tariffs had not been study only considers the direct effects on Northern Ireland exports rather than any secondary impact would rise to a £110m loss of potential economic output if US President Donald Trump was to impose a 20% tariff on pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals is the part of the Northern Ireland economy which is most exposed to Trump tariffs as almost half of the sector's export sales go to the study suggests a 20% tariff would mean pharmaceutical sector output would be around 5% lower compared to a no tariff are effectively a tax on imported goods and are a major part of Trump's economic policy. Since re-entering office in January, he has raised tariffs on specific items such as steel, aluminium, and cars and imposed a blanket 10% levy on most goods from trading partners around the had briefly targeted some countries' exports with even higher tariff rates, only to suspend those measures for 90 days to allow for talks.A US trade court has ruled that an emergency law invoked by Trump did not give him the unilateral authority to impose the blanket 10% those tariffs are still being collected while the Trump administration appeals the administration is also conducting a national security investigation into pharmaceutical imports, a process which would provide a more solid legal basis to impose tariffs on that sector. 'A significant headwind' The study concludes that tariffs will "adversely affect local businesses and represent a significant headwind for businesses when trying to grow exports over the longer term"."It is also likely that many of the businesses impacted will be in specific geographic areas e.g. Mid Ulster and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon council areas," it says."This is due to the importance of the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries to these areas, which will have implications for the regional balance agenda being taken forward by the department."
