After the Gold Rush by Warren Pole. The Mail on Sunday Live. January 8, 2012. 16-21 illus.
Photo of a mine at Tydrum, 800 feet underground. Although not stated this is the Cononish Gold Mine NGR NN 292 287.

“Scotgold CEO Chris Songster unlocks the heavy grille [open when I was there a few years ago] and we step inside, flicking on the small lights on our helmets to illuminate the blackness. Within a few yards, the light from the entrance has evaporated and we are enveloped by the cool darkness of the mine. We trudge almost half a mile down a tunnel, ankle-deep in water, until the shaft begins tracking a vein of gold. There is now 800ft of rock above us and tiny particles of fool's gold, or iron pyrite, glint in the walls of the tunnel. 'Most of the gold particles in here are less than 0.lmm in diameter, says Sangster, so you can't see them with the naked eye.
First discovered in 1985, the Tyndrum mine was shelved when the price of gold plummeted early this century, but with its value now soaring, Scotgold plans to start mining later this year. The company's discreet offices, located within former railway station buildings, give no hint of the potential fortune the company is sit¬ting on. 'There are actually highly prospective areas here,' Sangster insists. 'The official resource we have is 163,000 ounces, which is £184 million at today's prices.'
By this time next year, those 163,000 ounces will almost certainly be worth considerably more. Since 2008, gold's price has doubled, now standing at more than £1,040 an ounce. As the value of traditional investment markets, ranging from the stock exchange to property, has nosedived, and global financial markets have slid deeper into turmoil, momentum has built for what is now being described as 'the new gold rush'. Those caught up in it include everyone from high financiers to petty street criminals.”

Other photos include: Gold bullion in the Bank of England vaults; A gold ingot from Russia worth £430K; Leon Kirk attempts to find gold using a simple device made from a pipe and a tennis ball; The Golden Globe – total gold production for 2010 [world wide].

---

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2082126/From-river-prospectors-canny-investors-everyones-hunt-gold.html 

Link to article

---

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2082126/From-river-prospectors-canny-investors-everyones-hunt-gold.html

Link to article

Well done Manicminer. Wish I knew how to do that. Could have saved myself £1.50. I like the readers' comments 😉

---

Just an update!
Today's Times, was reporting that Scotgold have put some of the previously mined ore, presumably by, Ennex, through their treatment plant.
They are reportedly very pleased with the results, and are hoping to sell off the Gold to Scottish jewellers, at a premium.
Galena, is being produced as well.
They hope to eventually to process 100,000 tons of ore.
Which in my opinion, is probably what is lying about on the surface, being as previously mentioned, the results of the Ennex mining venture here.

Apparently the plant is going to carry out a 'gold pour' on August the 3rd.
Presumably this is the result of the plant processing, the ore raised, and left on surface from the earlier work of the Ennex cooperation.
The local MSP is going along to open up the event.

BBC News


Gold mine wins backing of Loch Lomond national park official

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-43078880 

---

Got planning permission

Cononish gold mine given planning permission

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-43219435 

---

Just noticed this. It is good news, but I have to wonder why Mountaineering Scotland objected? How does a gold mine impair mountaineering?

Fortunately the national park authorities were much more sensible.

I think they just object to any development in the Highlands.
As I understand it the company is still looking for a major cash injection to make the mine a real goer.

Hard to see how you sell the idea of a gold mine to investors. Although there is some consumer demand for gold it doesn't really behave like other commodities such as oil, wheat etc.

It isn't an investment i.e. it doesn't generate an income. It sort of reacts to good and bad financial and geo-political news, but by no means strongly enough to predict any price moves. So where do investors see a return?

Most ridiculously, the price even reacts to things before they have happened. In June 2016 the price had crept up with the jitters about the referendum. But on the Wednesday night - when Remain seemed likely to win - the gold price fell as if the vote had already happened.

At 10.30pm, thanks to the wonders of internet shopping (and Morrison's own brand Scotch), I reasoned that this was completely irrational as nothing was decided, so bought some bullion. Next day the price went through the roof, 15% up I think.

There is no sensible way to pitch a market like that to investors.

Hard to see how you sell the idea of a gold mine to investors. Although there is some consumer demand for gold it doesn't really behave like other commodities such as oil, wheat etc.

They are mainly selling it on the uniqueness of Scottish gold for jewellery I think, appear to have a tie up with a jewellers there too. If it worked for Welsh gold it ought to work for the Scots!

And they only put a trace of the Welsh gold in the jewellery.

Bit like Homeopathy! ::)

---

Actually "selling" an investment in a gold mining company is the same as selling any investment. There is a capital cost and an operating cost and an estimated sales price of the product. Simple maths tells you if the investment will make a profit and if it does there will be a dividend and the share price will increase. It should be really quite simple, but as those of us in the industry know and often to our cost, it never quite works like that.

Anyway good luck to ScotGold, its a long time since Ennex made the discovery back in the mid 1980's so patience has proven to be a virtue in this case, but it shows you that there are no short cuts to mine developments in Europe or in fact, anywhere else. Funnily enough it was Ennex who also discovered Curraghinalt in Northern Ireland (also in the 1980's) which Dalradian are now putting into production as well.

Must be the time to look at the other gold "discoveries" made in the British Isles during the 1980's, Calliachar Burn, Borland Glen, Towie, Glendinning, Croagh Patrick, Inishturk etc etc.

Borland Glen is especially interesting as the bedrock source has yet to be located and many of the alluvial grains had textures indicative of open-space growth. However it may be the case that the mineralisation has similarities to nearby Alva i.e. localised very high-grade bonanza pockets - making a greater than usual challenge (AKA the needle in a haystack effect)....

Borland Glen is especially interesting as the bedrock source has yet to be located and many of the alluvial grains had textures indicative of open-space growth. However it may be the case that the mineralisation has similarities to nearby Alva i.e. localised very high-grade bonanza pockets - making a greater than usual challenge (AKA the needle in a haystack effect)....

You also I believe get water worn silver dendrites?? Alva I believes a one off find of an otherwise hidden swarm of such deposits ... Was any effort made to survey the area look for anomalies John? 🙂

Intensively yes... drainage, deep overburden, mag/EM/IP. Area has a thick till mantle away from the highest ground so is especially challenging.

Borland Glen is interesting as the gold is accompanied by detrital cinnabar and also the gold is in two distinct forms - well rounded low silver yellow gold grains and angular arborescent whitish gold fragments with high silver content. Despite extensive prospecting and trenching no in situ or even rock-hosted mineralization has ever been found. VLF-EM16R failed to detect any linear anomalies as did Hg-soil gas surveys. Doubtless there is an epithermal type source but it will take some finding.

There was a really good book published on Alva a few years ago... ‘Bonazas and Jacobites... The story of Silver Glen’
Tells the full history of the working of the Alva Mines..
A guy called Dr Stephen Moreton was the author... I think you can still get copies on Amazon??;D

To my knowledge, the alluvial terraces were trenched but the deep overburden/geophysics grid-lines were not. Yes lots of cinnabar there - like little match-heads in panned concentrates. Also I found mixed gold-quartz nuggets on occasion. Long time ago now!

Latest spiel! ;D

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/gold-mining-firm-finds-new-14217353 

---