Gwynfynydd Gold Mine near Ganllwyd, Dolgellau

Dolgellau

Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...

, Gwynedd

Gwynedd

Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, was discovered in 1860. It was active until 1998 and has produced 45,000+ troy ounces of Welsh gold

Welsh gold

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. This was mined at several mines, the largest of which were the Gwynfynydd Gold...

 since 1884. The Queen was presented with a kilogram of Welsh gold on her 60th birthday (April 1986) from this mine. In the 1990s the mine was open to the public and provided guided tours which included the opportunity to pan for gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

.

Gold from the Gwynfynydd Mine has been used in many modern awards. Notably, Gwynfynydd gold has been incorporated in the prestigious Glyndŵr Award

Glyndwr Award

The Glyndŵr Award is made for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation...

. This medal has been awarded annually since 1995 by the Machynlleth Tabernacl Trust, for excellence in the arts in Wales. Recipients have included many outstanding Welsh artists, beginning with painter Sir Kyffin Williams in 1995.

The mine closed because of Health and Safety issues, which would have almost doubled the cost of sinking mine shafts and galleries, and because of changing pollution

Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...

 control legislation

Legislation

Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

 which would have made the owners liable for the quality of the mine discharge into the River Mawddach

River Mawddach

The River Mawddach is a river in North Wales which has its source in a wide area north of Dduallt in Snowdonia. The river is much branched and many of the significant tributaries are of a similar size to the main river...

 had the mine remained open.

See also

• Clogau
  Clogau
  The Clogau Gold Mine was once the largest and richest mine of all the gold mines in the Dolgellau gold mining area...
  
  
• Dolaucothi