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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 17 Oct 1979

Vol. 316 No. 1

Written Answers. - County Cork Coal-fields.

499.

asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if he will investigate the viability of reopening the coal-fields in the vicinity of Dromagh, Mallow, County Cork.

The Dromagh Coal-field consists mainly of powdered coal which is unsuitable for domestic use. Tests are being carried out at present on the possibilities of burning high ash coals in specially designed furnaces for electricity generation. The prospects for future working of the Dromagh Coal-field and similar areas will depend, in the first instance, on the outcome of these tests. It would also be necessary to establish that adequate workable reserves exist at Dromagh and, since most of the shallow seams of coal in the area are exhausted, that mining by deep mining methods could be undertaken economically.

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