Welsh gold

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Welsh gold is highly prized because of its origin and scarcity, and occurs naturally in two distinct areas of Wales. One area is in North Wales in a band stretching from Barmouth, past Dolgellau and up towards Snowdonia. In South Wales it is found in a small area in the valley of the River Cothi at Dolaucothi where it is known to have been mined by the Romans. Jewellery such as torcs were worn by early Welsh princes, but it is not possible to confirm that this was Welsh gold since there were strong trade links between Wales and Ireland at the time and Ireland was a major producer of gold artefacts.

Dolaucothi

The earliest known Welsh gold mine was the Dolaucothi Gold Mines near Pumsaint, which possibly "opened" in the Bronze Age and closed in 1938, and was donated to the National Trust in 1941. However, it is best known for its exploitation on a large scale during the Roman period, from about 75 AD on to 300 AD at least. Hydraulic mining methods preceded opencast and then deep mining at the site.

North Wales

The Gwynfynydd Gold Mine in Dolgellau closed in the late 1990s. In January 2007, the BBC[1] and other news organisations[2] reported that the final traces of "economically extractable" gold had been removed from the mines and surrounding spoil. Even the local road surface had been filtered for traces, marking the end of the current mining operation.

Occurrence

Welsh gold forms in veins or lodes of ore that yield up to 30 troy ounces per long ton (920 g/Mg). In comparison, South African gold ore yields just a quarter of a troy ounce for every tonne mined (8 g/Mg). However the South African gold fields are vastly more extensive. Welsh gold, when extracted, often has a reddish tint due to admixture with copper. During refining, the gold is purified to the more common yellow color. Once Welsh gold is purified, it is indistinguishable from other gold by the normal physical and chemical tests, and can be distinguished only by its isotopic composition.

Royalty

The royal patronage of jewellery formed out of Welsh gold still continues today. Her Majesty The Queen, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Her Highness Princess Margaret, HRH The Prince of Wales, Diana Princess of Wales and HRH Camilla The Duchess of Cornwall all wore/wear wedding rings fashioned from Welsh gold. Her Majesty The Queen was presented with a kilogram of Welsh gold on her 60th birthday (April 1986) and following reports in January 2007 of the end of commercial supply, Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe expressed an interest in having a commemorative WBO belt made from the gold.[3] Due to its rarity, and perhaps the royal patronage, Welsh gold is usually more expensive to buy on the high street and is often sold in diluted form (with as little as 10% of provenanced Welsh gold mixed with other gold bullion).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Final Welsh gold mine closing
  2. ^ Swansong for Welsh bands of gold
  3. ^ Calzaghe going for rare gold

External links

Commercial links

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