Gold mining Scotland?

crickleymal

New member
I don't know what brought this to mind but about 15 years ago I went for an interview for a job in the hospital on Shetland. On the ferry on the way over they were playing a documentary about gold mining or mainly panning which I assume was somewhere in Scotland. I missed the beginning of the documentary so I don't know where it was. All I can remember is lots of B&W footage of craggy men with beards leading donkeys. Any one have any idea?
 

crickleymal

New member
Well the documentary was over 30 minutes long and mainly in B&W from memory. However it could have been in the same area.
 

Pitlamp

Well-known member
The area around Wanlockhead, where the gold is supposed to be, looks like a nice upland region, potentially good for walking. I always wondered if it'd be a good venue for a caving club alternative meet one weekend (to make a change from actual caving). It's not that far to get to from northern England and you might just pan a nugget big enough to pay for the petrol!
 

Jenny P

Active member
There was gold mining near Tyndrum at one time, you can see the remnants of the spoil from the road.  They are just investigating re-starting there but not sure how far they have got.
 

al

Member
We stayed in Tyndrum in February 2020 and there were plenty of heavy vehicles going up to the mine, but it isn't the mine you can see from the road, it's above Cononish, to the right of the track to Ben Lui.
 

zzzzzzed

Member
I assume you know that the Clogau gold mine near Dolgellau in Wales is re-opening soon.  This has been Britain?s most productive gold mine in the past.
https://www.albamineralresources.com/page.php?pID=64

They?ve done a lot of drilling recently to look for new veins and they are applying for a de-watering license so they can drain some of the lower levels because they have found new deposits of gold at a deeper level than has previously been mined.
 

mikem

Well-known member
Tyndrum mine is just ramping up:
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scotlands-first-commercial-gold-mine-23102041
 

Fjell

Well-known member
35 years ago I snuck into an adit at Tyndrum with a geologist whose palm had been greased by an Irish company to look for gold they didn't own. He needed someone to bolt across a shaft to the continuing passage. I believe it was concluded there were prospects in the area and work kicked off but collapsed with the gold price.

We didn?t get shot at least, always a plus round there.

Wanlockhead is the most depressing place in the world. I had to spend a week there once, in winter, in continuous rain. Don?t go.
 

mikem

Well-known member
Seems to be a bit of a theme for lead production, what with Nenthead & the mine manager's house at charterhouse on Mendip being called Bleak House.
 

al

Member
mikem said:
Seems to be a bit of a theme for lead production, what with Nenthead & the mine manager's house at charterhouse on Mendip being called Bleak House.

And there's Bare House on Grassington Moor (although the locals pronounce it barass).
 

AR

Well-known member
Pitlamp said:
The area around Wanlockhead, where the gold is supposed to be, looks like a nice upland region, potentially good for walking. I always wondered if it'd be a good venue for a caving club alternative meet one weekend (to make a change from actual caving). It's not that far to get to from northern England and you might just pan a nugget big enough to pay for the petrol!

There's definitely gold around Wanlockhead; although it's mainly been panned from the streams since at least the 16th century it has now been identified in some of the veins on the moors. Yes, it's bit bleak up there when the weather's bad but no more so than Nenthead, Flushimere, Hudeshope, or Grassington Moor, to name just a few of the mining sites of the Pennines!
 

wellyjen

Well-known member
zzzzzzed said:
I assume you know that the Clogau gold mine near Dolgellau in Wales is re-opening soon.  This has been Britain?s most productive gold mine in the past.
https://www.albamineralresources.com/page.php?pID=64

They?ve done a lot of drilling recently to look for new veins and they are applying for a de-watering license so they can drain some of the lower levels because they have found new deposits of gold at a deeper level than has previously been mined.

If they delve too greedily and too deep, who knows what evil of the ancient world they will awaken?  :eek:
 

aardgoose

Member
Spent a few days camped at the farm at Cononish about 27 years ago, the trial level had been made then.  We tried panning in the stream and got a lot of garnets but no gold.

More interesting was a trip down the Foss barite mine (under care and maintenance at the time) near Aberfeldy.


 

alex17595

Member
Gold was also found in the Strath of Kildonan.

You can still get a permit for Gold panning for ?10/day

http://www.suisgill.co.uk/things-to-do/gold-panning/permission-and-rules-for-gold-panning-on-the-kildonan-burn/
 
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