Here is a real mining project which although now in the public domain, thankfully does not seem to be hitting the headlines and hopefully is chugging along to realisation :)

M-I SWACO are part of the Schlumberger the oil field services company who operate under the banner M-I Great Britain the Foss Barite mine in Perthshire

They are in the process of resurrecting their Duntanlich Project situated further east along the same ridgeline, which was refused planning in the 1990's. This is a world class 7.5 million tonnes deposit of barite which they hope to extract at the rate of 120,000 tonnes per annum (compared to the Foss Mine's 42,000 tonne per annum).

They have been busy in recent months consulting locally via public exhibitions and meetings with community councils, SNH, SEPA, PKC etc and have submitting a pre-application notice to Perth & Kinross Council in advance of a formal planning application. They seem to have addressed the main problem from the previous application (hauling minerals along the A827 from Aberfeldy to Ballinluig on the A9) by proposing the construction of an internal haul route to Ballinluig. No doubt there will be some whinging about visual intrusion but since the last application the Scottish Government have permitted locally the massive Griffin Windfarm, Calliachar Windfarm and the Beauly to Denny mega-pylons whose impact dwarfs this scheme.

M-I Swaco have produced an excellent briefing document which is well worth a read:

http://duntanlich.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/DuntanlichProjectPlanDocument261114_EmailVersion1.pdf 

with much more at the project website:

http://duntanlich.com/ 

Fingers crossed this scheme comes to fruition to provide continuity of employment to the Foss Mine men and expand further the work force.

Latest news! :thumbup:

http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/new-mineral-mine-set-for-perthshire-1-4231417 

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More refs:

McKirdy, A P 2002 2002 Metalliferous minerals 🇮🇳 Trewin, N H (ed) 2002 The Geology of Scotland. The Geological Society, London. Case study: proposal to extract barytes at Duntanlich, Perthshire. 476.
Pollock, Alan 1991 Proposed Barytes Mine at Duntanlich. Aberfeldy, Environmental Advisory Unit, University of Dundee. 19, illus.
Pollack,S H A, Begg, H M, Bell, D, Hood,J, Ingram, H A P, Jones, A M, Mcmanus, J M, & Robertson, J R. 1991. Proposed Barytes Mine at Duntanlich: Environmental Statement. Environmental Advisory Unit, University of Dundee. [I have a similar report by CSM. The CSM report was probably produced around the same time - although it could be later, as the proposals were rejected following a public inquiry, and appeals and revised applications have rumbled on for a decade. CSM Associates, the commercial arm of Camborne School of Mines, was formed in 1987.
Colin McLeod, personal communication 16.05.07]
Duntanlich barite mine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-30778716 
accessed 260215 Perthshire

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Here is a real mining project which although now in the public domain, thankfully does not seem to be hitting the headlines and hopefully is chugging along to realisation :)

possibly one thing has to do with the other? just a thought 🙂

Excellent news that, at last, Duntanlich should go ahead after 30 years. If the original 1988 plan had been approved the deposit would have provided significant quantities of barite during the North Sea oil boom and given the region a number of permanent highly skilled and paid jobs.
However let's just celebrate that another world-class deposit should be going into production to join Wolf's Drakelands (Hemerdon) tungsten operation at the other end of Britain operation.
Tim Colman
http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/new-mineral-mine-set-for-perthshire-1-4231417 

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Anyone know the current position on this? The proposed start date was summer 2019, but there seems to be little current information online. Any info from the real world welcome.

Maybe waiting for the world oil price to reach a certain level.

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Anyone know the current position on this? The proposed start date was summer 2019, but there seems to be little current information online. Any info from the real world welcome.

There have been delays which I think mostly related to the detailed design of the access arrangements (a 4.5km haul road across very high remote country) and at the mine site. Robertson Construction (Stirling based civils and, mostly, building contractor, mostly known for delivering high quality public facing buildings included the Macallan Distillery visitor centre) have been preferred bidder since last year. I understand that they have now been awarded the contract and are on site.

SI SWACO and Robertsons are keeping it all very low key (which in the case of Robertson I am surprised about as a predominately a civil engineering scheme; a part of their business they are endeavouring to grow). However the press release for their new Executive Director of their civil engineering business, lets the cat of the bag

https://www.robertson.co.uk/news/robertson-grows-civil-engineering-business-new-executive-director 

Bryan’s appointment follows the latest high-profile contract win for the civil engineering business, as work continues on the Duntanlich Service Infrastructure project in Perthshire for MI SWACO.

Thanks Grumpytramp, thought you would have some knowledge on this. :thumbsup:

And, thanks Tim, the oil price correlation must be the defining factor. I'm north of the border later this year so will have a look.

Thanks Grumpytramp, thought you would have some knowledge on this. :thumbsup:

I passed Logierait on the A827 heading up to near Aberfeldy for a wee cast on the Tay. I can confirm that Robertsons are on site and their subcontractor (which I think is, Jedburgh earthworks contractor, RJT who are also doing the earthworks for Balfour Beatty on the A9 dualling between Luncarty and Pass of Birnam) have made significant progress driving the access road towards the mine site.