There really is Scottish gold in them thar hills...
IT may be no bigger than a thumbnail, but this tiny ball of yellow metal raises the prospect that a quiet corner of Scotland is set to strike it rich.
This little nugget is the first refined gold produced by a Scottish mine in more than 500 years and could trigger a multimillion-pound bonanza.
Mining firm Scotgold Resources has just started a six-month trial, crushing 2,400 tons of ore which has been stockpiled at its facility at Cononish, near the Stirlingshire village of Tyndrum.
The Australia-based company hopes to produce between 400 and 600oz of unrefined gold during the trial period, around 100oz of which will be sent to jewellers to test the market for Scottish gold. Scotgold hopes its rarity value may command a premium price.
The mine is within the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and the project has suffered several long delays in having its plans approved amid environmental concerns.
Now a small-scale processing plant has started work at the site after permission was finally granted earlier this year.
Scotgold said the trial represented ‘a significant milestone’ as it seeks to persuade potential investors to back largerscale production at Cononish, which could lead to the extraction of tons of gold and silver.
The trial will also help prove the quality of the seam. The mine’s development plan initially placed the value of the gold in the mine at £80million.
But a recent rise in the price of gold, together with an independent report earlier this year suggesting there could be far more gold than first thought, means the site could be worth closer to £200million.
Speaking at the official launch of the trial yesterday, Scotgold chief executive Richard Gray said: ‘It is extremely satisfying to be able to celebrate this significant milestone. The achievement of gold production provides tangible evidence of our progress.
‘We plan to produce a premium product whose provenance can be traced back all the way to the mine.
‘We believe that people will want to have jewellery that is not just designed and made in Scotland, but made from Scottish gold.’
The company also showed off a golf ball-sized lump of unrefined gold, known in the trade as the ‘first pour’, which contains a mix of metals including silver, copper and nickel. This is sent to a refiner to produce pure gold for certification.
Mr Gray said: ‘We will be dealing with the Edinburgh Assay Office which will be stamping our gold to verify its provenance.
‘This is a very exciting time for the company and we hope that within 12 months or so we will have the mine fully up and running.’
He said when the mine is fully operational, it hopes to employ up to 60 people – with locals expected to fill around 50 of those posts.
Until now, Scotland had not had a single working gold mine since around 1450, in the reign of James II.
Any existing gold production comes from panners who mainly work the rivers of the North Highlands.
The stockpiled ore at Cononish is thought to contain 7.9 grammes of gold per ton and 39 grammes of silver.
GreenOre Gold, which is backed by Turkish mining giant Koza Altin Isletmeleri, has begun looking for gold in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire.
‘A significant milestone’