Britain could be quids in as early as next year after plans to reopen the UK’s only underground gold mine are poised to be given the green light.
Following years of wrangling, a Scottish mining company hoping to extract an estimated 200,000 ounces of gold in the village of Tyndrum has just received backing from its main key player.
The planning committee at Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority is due to visit the site next week and it is believed they will finally give Scotgold Resources Ltd the go ahead.
Britain could be quids in as early as next year after plans to reopen the UK’s only underground gold mine are poised to be given the green light
A Scottish mining company hoping to extract an estimated 200,000 ounces of gold in the village of Tyndrum has just received backing from its main key player
The company has so far received £3 million from shareholders towards the scheme but it will need to find a further £7 million from investors to get off the ground
Revised plans have made the huge Cononish Mine ‘much more environmentally friendly’, which is thought to have finally won over officials.
Richard Gray, Scotgold Resources’ managing director, told the Oban Times: ‘If we get permission, and we have every reason to expect that we will get it because we came back with a better scheme, it would create 63 direct jobs and we would be buying materials we need from local suppliers, boosting the local economy.
‘We hope it won’t be too long before we get a decision from the National Park Authority.’
Scotgold Resources has been producing precious metals above ground for 18 months (file photo: A Scottish gold nugget not from the mine)
Revised plans have made the huge Cononish Mine ‘much more environmentally friendly’, which is thought to have finally won over officials
Scotgold Resources has been producing precious metals above ground for 18 months.
The company has processed 2,400 tonnes of ore stockpiled outside the mine entrance from the 1980s, but supply is now dwindling.
By reopening the mine, Scotgold Resources believe it will be able to tap into a whopping 560,000 tonnes of ore from an underground quarts vein carrying both gold and silver.
The planning committee at Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority is due to visit the site next week and it is believed they will finally give Scotgold Resources Ltd the go ahead
2,400 tonnes of ore have been stockpiled outside the main entrance from the 1980s, but supply is now dwindling
By reopening the mine, Scotgold Resources believe it will be able to tap into a whopping 560,000 tonnes of ore from an underground quarts vein carrying both gold and silver
It is hoped it will attract both tourists and couples wanting niche Scottish gold wedding and engagement rings.
The company has so far received £3 million from shareholders towards the scheme but it will need to find a further £7 million from investors to get off the ground.
Among the adjustments, Scotgold Resources’ updated plans propose that the mining operations will be phased in over 17 years instead of 10.
The mine is the UK’s only underground gold mine, and is located in Tyndrum, Scotland
Scotgold Resources’ updated plans propose that the mining operations will be phased in over 17 years instead of 10
In November 2015, Scotgold raised almost £46,000 by auctioning off 10 gold coins to collectors and enthusiasts
A spokesman for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority said: ‘A planning application was received from Scotgold on the August 10, 2017, for its revised mine proposal at Cononish gold mine at Tyndrum.
‘This is being considered according to the National Park Authority’s standard planning procedures.’
In November 2015, Scotgold raised almost £46,000 by auctioning off 10 gold coins to collectors and enthusiasts.
The coins were all embossed with a stag’s head and weighed one ounce.
Graham Donaldson, from Christchurch in Dorset bagged one for £21,003.3p.
He said he was going to ‘look at it, stroke it and put it in a safe place’.