Tara Mines, the largest zinc producer in Europe is located beside the town of Navan some 55 km from the city of Dublin and directly employs some 660 people. The orebody extends from the near surface Nevinstown orebody north of the river Blackwater to a depth in excess of 800 m in the South West orebody.

From the beginning Tara’s awareness of its social responsibility and commitment to the local community and the environment was visionary.

Environmental management is an integral component of the operation at Tara and is implemented through corporate policy that safeguards the natural and social environment in all areas of the operation.

Cliff had total responsibility for the design and installation of Tara Mines, answering only to the Company's Board of Directors.

Tara Mines is distinguished by its size, social complexity, and environmental challenges. Cliff had many legal and social hurdles to overcome before beginning development of the mine The mine was located in the town of Navan, the county seat of Meath. The location, therefore, presented some problems which had to be overcome before commencing development.

The other issue was the sensitivity of the environment.

The company operates an ‘open door’ policy with respect to environmental practice, monitoring and control thus ensuring constructive, flexible and open dialogue with various third parties including local residents.

In order to obtain permission to proceed with the development of the mine, approval was needed from The High Court of Ireland. Under the license all the Company’s activities were monitored, including the continuous monitoring of noise, blasting vibration, ambient air, total dust deposition and discharge to the River Boyne. Routine monitoring of ground water, surface waters, soil and vegetation was also carried out. Once permission was granted by Ireland's highest court, Cliff had the legal mandate and social approval to begin development; however, he knew that the challenge for him was not simply to win the approval of the town's people, but to maintain that trust for the duration of the development and production of the mine.


As an example of the mine's awareness, the Company planted 30,000 trees at Tara in the area of the mine and the disposal sites, and erected sound barriers within the perimeters of the noisier areas.

Tara Mines is one of the most outstanding models of careful and responsible planning and accomplishments in the mining history. The public monitoring installed at Tara mines continues to be an example of environmental awareness available to the community at any time.

In late 1974, Clifford was offered the position of Executive Vice President of Denison Mines and the opportunity to rise to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer.