Drilling at a mine in Co Tyrone has been halted for up to four weeks.
A spokeswoman for Dalraian Gold last night confirmed that no drilling had taken place at the site near Greencastle for three to four weeks but resumed again earlier this week.
Earlier this month, the Canadian mining firm said that its “drill program was temporarily halted for equipment upgrade and improvement”.
In a fresh statement issued last night the company said: "For operational reasons, we temporarily halted the drilling, while continuing with all of our other planned work underground.
“Drilling has now recommenced."
The Health and Safety Executive said it visited the site at the end of January but added it had not ordered work at the mine to stop.
A spokesman said: “We can confirm that HSENI attended the site, however no formal enforcement action was taken.”
Cormac McAleer from the Save Our Sperrins campaign group said the company should provide a thorough explanation for the recent stoppage.
“The reality is this type of work is very dangerous and to be fair to workers it requires an investigation and full disclosure by the Health and Safety Executive,” he said.
