CALLINGTON Town Council’s Portreeve and town mayor, Cllr Mark Smith, has welcomed the decision of Cornwall Resources Limited to hold a series of public meetings over the potential to re-open Redmoor Mine in Kelly Bray.

Cllr Smith has been working closely with the mining company to ensure that the public are kept informed following the announcement of a proposal for over 20 exploration drilling bore holes across the area during 2017 as the company investigates the potential tin reserves beneath the area.

Cllr Smith said: “When the mining company first announced their intentions, I wanted to ensure that the public are kept well informed about what is going to happen next year and, also importantly, what is not going to happen.

“I welcome the company’s decision to assist with a series of public meetings and I will be asking the town council to keep the whole community informed of progress over the coming months through our newsletter and social media outlets. I attended the first of these last Thursday evening and felt it was good that the public could ask any questions of the company.”

His comments were echoed by Callington’s Cornwall councillor Andrew Long, who is also a member of the town council and has been in discussions with Cornwall Resources over the last month.

Mr Long said: “This proposal could have a positive job impact on our community but also there are naturally concerns from local residents as to how any future works might affect their lives.

“Therefore it was good to see the company taking the lead on consultation with the public and involving Cllr Smith from the start as he lives very close to the existing mining area and will be an ideal person to ensure that the local people are kept informed.”

More meetings were planned for the rest of December and the new year before the first of the proposed test drilling takes place in early spring.