A new attempt is to be made to establish a barite mine in Highland Perthshire, almost 20 years after it was rejected because of its likely environmental impact.

Proposals to develop "the world class barite resource" at Duntanlich, in the hills to the north of Aberfeldy, have been announced by M-I SWACO which is owned by Schlumberger Limited, one of the world's largest oil field services companies.

A planning application is expected to be lodged in the spring.

The proposed mine, which could directly create around 30 skilled jobs, is a replacement for the company's mine at nearby Foss, which has operated since 1985 and currently employs 18.

The company claims Duntanlich is the only known significant barite deposit that is economic to work and it would enable the UK to become self-sufficient in a mineral vitally important to the North Sea oil and gas industry, ensuring security of supply.

Barite is largely used as a weighting agent for drilling fluids in oil and gas exploration and there is no substitute with all the essential properties of this mineral. It is also used as an added value application in the automobile and medical industry.

A previous planning application from the company to develop the Duntanlich resource was turned down in 1995 on the grounds of potential environmental impact.

The site is in the Loch Tummel National Scenic Area (NSA), which boasts one of the most famous of Scotland's panoramas, the Queen's View of Loch Tummel.

Neighbouring landowners had also objected as the proposed haulage road would have cut across their land.

A Public Inquiry was held. The Reporter recommended refusal because of the likely impact on the character and appearance of the landscape particularly within the NSA. Secretary of State Ian Lang did not think the economic and employment benefits outweighed the environmental concerns.

But now the developers say three years of environmental studies have gone into their new proposal for a mine with a 50 year life. The annual production of the mine would be reduced from th eoriginal 200,000 tonnes to 120,000 tonnes and the development has been planned "so that there is no or minimal visibility of it from the surrounding area, including the highly sensitive Queen's View."

Meanwhile a new eight and a half mile access track into the site from the A827 close to the A9 Ballinluig junction, would remove mine traffic from the settlements in the along the Tay valley.

A spokesman said there would very little impact on other neighbouring landowners who were now in agreement.

Ian Hughes, Project Manager for M-I SWACO said:

"Such a project will not only have a significant positive local economic impact, diversifying the economy of this rural area where employment is reliant on tourism and forestry, but will also have national significance in terms of providing vital continuity of supply for the North Sea oil and gas industry.

"We have learnt a lot from the time of the previous application and have made significant adjustments to our proposals. Should these be approved by Perth & Kinross Council we could see barite being extracted by the end of 2017."

Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland, whose land the new access track would cross, both said there was not sufficient detail to comment at this stage.

Similarly spokesman for the wild land charity, the John Muir Trust said that while the JMT would be concerned about any impact on the Loch Tummel NSA, more information was needed for the trust to decide its position.