A public meeting is being held tomorrow on the High Court challenge to the proposed Aughinish Alumina expansion.
The factory, on the Shannon Estuary, off the N69 and close to Foynes, is Europe’s largest alumina refinery, and is one of the biggest employers in the West Limerick region.
Aluminium firm EN+, which is controlled by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, is the majority shareholder of Russian aluminium giant, Rusal, which owns Aughinish Alumina.
West Limerick’s Aughinish Alumina processes bauxite, which is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content.
It’s been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála to expand the Bauxite Disposal Area, which is used for leftover bauxite residue, associated with production of alumina.
Permission has also been given to extend the permitted borrow pit, which is an area of quarried stone, and to extend the existing Salt Cake Disposal Cell; salt cake is a by-product in the aluminium recycling process.
Environmental justice campaigners, Futureproof Clare, has issued High Court proceedings seeking to overturn the grant of planning permission.
The group cites several safety concerns, including for habitat and wildlife from rockblasting, and the increased possibility of leakage of mining waste into the Shannon Estuary.
Futureproof Clare is holding a public meeting tomorrow evening at 6 o’clock at the University of Limerick, Schumann Building (Room S115), and is asking individuals and groups to attend.
Legal and environmental experts will speak, and the group will also launch a fundraiser to support the legal challenge.
The event will also be livestreamed on the Futureproof Clare Facebook page.
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HEADLINE: Public meeting on High Court challenge to Aughinish Alumina expansion
TAGS: Aughinish Alumina, companies, Rusal, Russian, EN+, subsidiary, deal, High Court challenge, High Court, challenge, Futureproof Clare, Foynes, N68, west Limerick,
PICTURE: Aughinish Alumina
