Wicklow Gold

slowburner

An article in the current south edition of the Wicklow times headlines 'GOLD RUSH'.
Before you dust off your pans and stick on your wellies, it is about a consortium (Connemara mining and Hendrick resources) holding four licenses to explore in the south Wicklow/north Wexford area.
Both believe that there are commercially viable gold deposits in the licensed area.

So what are the implications; good, bad or indifferent?

Ophiopogon

I'm a bit worried about this as I know at least old fashioned gold mining methods are incredible destrustive for the environment. I think it something like 1 ton crush rock to get a couple of ounces of gold. And I really don't want to see another replay of the Avoca mines in terms of desolation.

However, I have no knowledge of new methods used that may be less destrucive and I would hope if they were to start they would be held strictly to regulations.

Alun

There's a gold mine being developed in the Trossachs National Park in Scotland, and although there was a lot of controversy, and many objections (mainly from people who didn't actually live there ... what's new ?!) to the proposal it passed the planning stage. There was a program on the BBC about it not so long ago.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/25/scottish-gold-mine-cononish

Gold is getting so valuable these days that mines that were previously considered uneconomical are becoming viable again, same goes for copper and tin.

slowburner

Well, if it ever comes to pass, I suppose that it would create a fair bit of employment.


Perhaps naively or perhaps optimistically, I would hope that these industries can carry out their workings in a more sensitive manner, these days.
I think the 'polluter pays' principle would apply to any new mining activity, just as it might well be one of the many reasons why the Avoca copper mines have not re-opened - given that the current price of copper could make them viable.
If the Avoca mines re-opened (not going to happen?), the new operator would have to pay the costs of rehabilitating the Avoca river.
That would be incredibly good news - not only would the mining and spin off services provide employment, but the restoration of a river with the potential to be one of the finest salmon rivers in these islands would be of enormous benefit to tourism and allied businesses.

vickers209

Was just looking at wexford thread and found this
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056582044

From the website below it looks like a big project be surveying a while now wonder if they found anything

http://www.hendrickresources.com/

Survey Area

BarryD

I think you need to be keeping a close eye on these people. Mention the word gold and people start behaving oddly, including governments and politicians and local authorities etc....

If there was a significant deposit of localised gold in these areas, you'd think it'd have located a long time ago. I understand a substantial search was made for lodes on Croghan Mtn., south of Arklow during the gold rush there and not much was found. So if there is gold, perhaps it's distributed in small quantities throughout the country rocks of the area and washes here and there into the streams. The implications of this, of course, could be large opencast mines, extracting these small deposits over a wide area. Who'd vote for that?

vickers209

Looks Like they found gold alright

Conor Feehan of the Evening Herald reports an exploration company has literally struck gold in the sunny south east of Ireland.

An area between Wicklow and Wexford is now being examined after the "very good gold find" to establish if it could be worth mining.

The IMC Exploration Group said the find is "very exciting".

"We have found gold and there is no ifs or buts about it," its chairman Liam McGrattan said. "We have to be measured about this, but it is a real gold find," he added.

The company is going to continue to drill and say the future of the site is promising.

"It's a very exciting project and we are confident we will have a gold mine in the area where we found this," Mr McGrattan explained.

"We don't know how much there is at this time but it is a very significant find," he added.

The south east of Ireland has a golden history, with a gold rush in south Wicklow back in the 18th century.

IMC's managing director Dr Glenn Millar said the latest data shows promising grades of gold and that drilling has also commenced at the aptly-named Goldmine River in Co Wicklow.

http://www.wicklownews.net/Post/2012/9/2838/very-exciting-as-exploration-company-find-gold-

Maudi

vickers209 wrote: »

Looks Like they found gold alright

Conor Feehan of the Evening Herald reports an exploration company has literally struck gold in the sunny south east of Ireland.

An area between Wicklow and Wexford is now being examined after the "very good gold find" to establish if it could be worth mining.

The IMC Exploration Group said the find is "very exciting".

"We have found gold and there is no ifs or buts about it," its chairman Liam McGrattan said. "We have to be measured about this, but it is a real gold find," he added.

The company is going to continue to drill and say the future of the site is promising.

"It's a very exciting project and we are confident we will have a gold mine in the area where we found this," Mr McGrattan explained.

"We don't know how much there is at this time but it is a very significant find," he added.

The south east of Ireland has a golden history, with a gold rush in south Wicklow back in the 18th century.

IMC's managing director Dr Glenn Millar said the latest data shows promising grades of gold and that drilling has also commenced at the aptly-named Goldmine River in Co Wicklow.

http://www.wicklownews.net/Post/2012/9/2838/very-exciting-as-exploration-company-find-gold-

What would the legal implications of hobbyist gold panners exploring the river??i think i heard mention of a few people doing it on the w.ends...

PseudoFamous

Maudi wrote: »

What would the legal implications of hobbyist gold panners exploring the river??i think i heard mention of a few people doing it on the w.ends...

You'll get nothing of it. The Goldmine river south of Arklow (now providing a chunk of the water supply) was previously the site of a gold rush when they found a tiny, tiny amount, and there were panners galore out there for a long time. Unsurprisingly the name stuck. They got pretty much nothing for their trouble and eventually gave up. There's nothing in it.

An Ri rua

PseudoFamous wrote: »

You'll get nothing of it. The Goldmine river south of Arklow (now providing a chunk of the water supply) was previously the site of a gold rush when they found a tiny, tiny amount, and there were panners galore out there for a long time. Unsurprisingly the name stuck. They got pretty much nothing for their trouble and eventually gave up. There's nothing in it.

That's not strictly true at all. Depending on how the gold of Goldmines River got there, in fact it could be incredibly lucrative to return after floods to the place where you find gold; again and again and again.

And by the way, 'a tiny, tiny amount'?? 320KG, just sitting in the river. Alluvial gold. That is a crazy HIGH figure. You all need to read more about gold exploration before spoofing.

But of course if the gold found in the Red Hole was indeed the uncovering of an ancient riverbed beneath, then there would be no further accumulations of alluvial gold.

Clearly this isn't a mining or geological forum; as there is a lot of tommy-rot being spewed here, notably this, by BarryD
"If there was a significant deposit of localised gold in these areas, you'd think it'd have located a long time ago. I understand a substantial search was made for lodes on Croghan Mtn., south of Arklow during the gold rush there and not much was found. So if there is gold, perhaps it's distributed in small quantities throughout the country rocks of the area and washes here and there into the streams."
The complete lack of scientific mindset in this quote is mind-blowing. How this explanation could explain the sizeable amount (and nugget size) of gold found at the Red Hole is simply beyond me. How anyone could assume that the lesser techniques and technology of 1795-1830 now stack up against 2012 and a rising gold price is also beyond me.
Ireland has gold found in more geological variations than almost any other place on earth when compared geographically by area.

Would goldpanners do well in areas such as these? Undoubtedly, yes they could. But where to look in a river channel is the key issue. If you can't see a river in flood, you really have no idea where the gold may be. It may not be in the water at all, alluvial gold though it may be.
Currently, you are free to goldpan, though not to use dredges. But if you find gold, it is the property of the IMF, c/o the Irish govt. If you tell them, that is.

slowburner

I'm interested in this figure of 320 kg found at the Red Hole - where does the figure come from?
Historically, this was the most consistently productive location used by native gold seekers over the years.
For obvious reasons, quantifying the yield with any sort of accuracy would be next to impossible.
Here's an interesting outline of the commercial workings in the area:

The Government works, under Messrs. Mills, King, and
Weaver, were carried on till May 1798, when they were
interrupted by the Rebellion, and were not resumed till
1801, when, beside placer-mining, a tunnel or level was
driven into the east side of Croghan-Kinshella, and miles of
trenches (open casts) were cut down to the rock around
its summit. In these works numerous irregular veins of
quartz were found, but not a particle of gold in situ. After
these works the Government abandoned the undertaking.
The Government placer-mines are said to have been
remunerative ; 944 ounces* of gold were procured, the ingots
being, according to Weaver, from 21 3/8 to 21 7/8 carats fine,
the alloy being silver, and of a total value, at the time, of
£3,675. Alchorn's assay gives an alloy of silver and
copper. The money made by Government was all spent in
looking for the " mother-rock " of the gold. According
to Sir R. Kane, the gold collected and sold by private
individuals was worth over £10,000.
Since then, placer-mining has been carried on by
companies and private individuals, but without any great
success. Professor W. W. Smyth suggests, " partly on
account of the small amount of gold in the Placer, and
partly from the difficulty experienced, in all gold-streaming
or gold-digging regions, of obtaining from the workmen
full produce of their labours."

G.H.Kinahan. 1878. Manual of the Geology of Ireland.

*944 ounces is approximately 26 kg.

Test drilling by IMC next to the Red Hole has finished, very recently, and from what I heard, the results were disappointing.

slowburner

The trenches dug under the command of Captain Weaver close to the summit of Croghan mountain, are still plainly visible today.
Many of the lower trenches have been backfilled in recent years.

An Ri rua

slowburner wrote: »

I'm interested in this figure of 320 kg found at the Red Hole - where does the figure come from?
Historically, this was the most consistently productive location used by native gold seekers over the years.
For obvious reasons, quantifying the yield with any sort of accuracy would be next to impossible.
Here's an interesting outline of the commercial workings in the area:

G.H.Kinahan. 1878. Manual of the Geology of Ireland.

*944 ounces is approximately 26 kg.

Test drilling by IMC next to the Red Hole has finished, very recently, and from what I heard, the results were disappointing.

IMC also quote that figure of 9000 ounces reportedly found. I believe I have a much older source for it; will check. But this is authoritative, albeit still a sales pitch of sorts http://www.mineralsireland.ie/Mining+in+Ireland/
"Fortunes were made and lost, not least during the gold rush between 1795 and 1830 at the Gold Mines River (Co. Wicklow), where an estimated 7-9,000 oz of gold were extracted from alluvial gravels"

slowburner

The difference between c. 900, and 9,000 ounces is significant, don't you think?

An Ri rua

slowburner wrote: »

The difference between c. 900, and 9,000 ounces is significant, don't you think?

Its massive.

The majority of the alluvial gold is said to have been taken out (and estimated) in the 1st 6 weeks of the rush; until the militia were called in to protect the site and calm the situation. I have a feeling that 26KG refers to the workings afterwards. The militia stepped in quite quickly in 1795. It was then worked by government sources until 1798, then stopped briefly before restarting again in the new century.
I have a source document that mentions 9000 ounces but I cannot place it here as it also refers succinctly to another gold find in the Midlands at the start of that century. One which remains untapped.

slowburner

Here's a reference to an estimate of 800 oz, won prior to the intervention of the militia.

[From the Dublin Penny Journal, Vol. 1, No. 15, October 6, 1832]

In Ireland, county of Wicklow, seven miles west of Arklow, about the year 1770, there was an old schoolmaster, who used frequently to entertain his neighbours with accounts of the richness of their valley in gold: and his practice was to go out in the night to search for the treasure. For this he was generally accounted insane. But in, some years after, bits of gold were found in a mountain stream, by various persons; and, in 1796, a piece weighing about half an ounce. The news of this having circulated amongst the peasantry, such an infatuation took possession of the minds of the people, that every sort of employment, save that of acquiring wealth by the short process of picking it up out of the streams, was abandoned; and hundreds of human figures were to be seen bending over the waters, and scrutinizing every object there to be seen. In this way, during six weeks, no less than 800 ounces of gold were found, which sold for £3 15s. per ounce, or £3,000. Most of the gold was found in grains; many pieces weighed between two and three ounces; there was one of five ounces, and one of twenty-two. It contained about 6 per cent. of silver. Government soon undertook the works; but the amount of gold found, while superintended by the appointed directors, was only £3,671. It then appeared that there was no regular vein in the mountain, and that these fragments had probably existed in a part of the mountain which time had mouldered away, and left its more permanent treasure as the only monument of its ancient existence. The works were at length discontinued.

800 oz prior to intervention plus 900 oz. after (1,700 oz total), is still a long way off the 9,000 oz. mentioned in the previous post.
Any estimate of the quantities won prior to government operations is always going to be wildly speculative, but once the assay office becomes involved, the records are probably dependable.
Records post 1854 are scarce, if existing at all.

Whatever about the quantities extracted, it's a fascinating period in Wicklow's history. This relatively brief period begins in a time of rebellion, and passes through the Great Famine - an event which is never mentioned in reports of these workings.
The period matches almost exactly, the accepted dates for the span of the Industrial Revolution (1750-1850).
Perhaps the searches in Wicklow were more of an effort to partake in this revolution, than a genuinely lucrative venture.
It's worth bearing in mind that mining in these islands has a tradition of being carried out as a miltary operation - much of the terminology used is carried over from the Royal Navy.
Captain Weaver, in particular, was at a loose end after 1798. If you want to see how he attempted to redeem his reputation, have a look at the trenches around Croghan mountain.

I took a stroll along the river recently. The signs of amateur searches are obvious, and unpleasant, with all sorts of litter and unsuccessful contraptions abandoned all over the place.
One joker took the time to paint a quartz pebble gold, and left it on the bank - I'm sure that sent some hearts a flutter.

brianbigpicker

looking to go any1 up for going i have my own equipment

nuggetsww

brianbigpicker wrote: »

looking to go any1 up for going i have my own equipment

Sent me a pm

brianbigpicker

hi i was jst bwondering would you be interested in meeting and going prospecting together

nuggetsww

Hi
I sent you a pm

nuggetsww

Buy a book called Gold Frenzy there is a gold maps inside it

Pod Hoffman

Hello. I'm staying in Wicklow and would like to see if there is someone else in the area that's interested in coming along for a days prospecting. Not looking for anyone to give away their hot spots. Just a day out .I have a few spots in mind maybe you would know some other places. Let me know if your interested. Cheers

irishg4

Found an interest place on Google maps called Camp Gold Rash
It's on forestry ground so you don't need permission there is big Gold there

BarryD2

irishg4 wrote: »

Found an interest place on Google maps called Camp Gold Rash
It's on forestry ground so you don't need permission there is big Gold there

Google - beware the old principle 'garbage in, garbage out'

nuggetsww

It's True there is a really big Gold to be had its in Forestry waste Ground on the Coolbawn River up a Cul Da Sac from they Bridge on the Coolbawn River up to a Barb Wire Fence on both sides of the River
There is currently a Wino
a Former Teacher That has a Camp there but he keeps getting caught for illegal activities give anyone enough rope as the saying goes
Big Gold is where it is
I originally found the place through Gold Frenzy
Definitely worth a read has a map of Gold locations
Sharing is Caring

recedite

How much gold would this teacher trade me for two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon?

nuggetsww

I found it too it's on Google Maps there is the biggest gold in Wicklow there plenty of Parking

recedite

So you're living in an old mineshaft are you. Its been a tough and hungry winter. You should put up a sign at the road pointing in to the forest "Backpackers Welcome" (especially fat ones)

2011

I think this thread has run its course.
Let’s leave it at that.