with photographs of naturally occuring Gold & Silver |
SCOTTISH GOLD ALVA SILVER |
with photographs of naturally occuring Gold & Silver |
SCOTTISH GOLD ALVA SILVER |
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SITE LINKS
EXTERNAL LINKS For Wanlockhead info on gold panning and accommodation, follow this link |
SCOTTISH
GOLD
Bottles filled with Scottish gold
from different areas of Scotland.
SCOTTISH GOLD NUGGETS The nuggets above are from different streams
across Central Scotland. |
Introduction The Scottish Highlands is famous for its pure water - an essential ingredient in making Scotland's national and world-famous drink - whisky (from the Scottish Gaelic "uisgebaugh" meaning " Water of Life" ). The water is also panned for gold in the small burns or streams, ubiquitous throughout the country. The Ochil Hills of Fife and some streams in the county of Angus are among the most popular areas to try one's hand, but there are others. Access to some sites is however not permitted. A Scottish Gold Rush In the 19th century, around 1860, there was
a "gold-rush" in the northern Highlands to a
location in the county of Sutherland - though, as can
regularly be the case, there was more rush than gold. Nuggets with attached matrix can be found,
but well-crystallized gold on matrix, is much less
common. |
Each of the ten bottles above represents a different stream - spanning Leadhills (Lanarkshire) in the south, to Kildonan (Sutherland) in the north. The vial across the top contains some unidentified silver-coloured nuggets. Gold Panning in Scotland - A Basic Guide The following information and hints below on gold-panning have been graciosly made available for publication online by an anonymous gold-panner from Scotland, with great experience and, as the photographs testify, with a great deal of success. |
WHERE TO
PAN I would advise beginners to start at either Leadhills or Kildonan as there are usually other panners on these streams who are always glad to give assistance. EQUIPMENT ACCESS For all other areas, the LANDOWNERS PERMISSION MUST BE SOUGHT. |
SCOTTISH NUGGETS PANNING LESSONS & CONTESTS At Wanlockhead, one can learn and practice the art of panning and pan for the precious metal itself, as small nuggets and flecks, in the surrounding burns... Wanlockhead has been host to panning contests, including the World Gold Panning Championships and the mace of the new Scottish Parliament is gilded with Leadhills gold. |
PROSPECTING HINTS Gold, being heavy by nature, will be found sitting on top of bedrock, so try prospecting in areas where the bedrock is visible, as this will save you digging through several feet of gravel. Gold does not uniformly deposit itself up
and down the streams. Try sampling the length and breadth
of the stream Do's & Dont's Do
seek permission for access. Don't leave litter and don't dig into the banks. |
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Crystals of Scottish gold showing several differing habits. |
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Scottish Gold-Mining Gold is found in situ as micro flecks in quartz veins over a fairly large area of the Highlands. The main occurence, around the Highland Boundary Fault - which forms the southern border of the Highlands region - is centred around the Tyndrum & Aberfeldy area (Argyll & Perthshire). Scotland's first gold mine was planned to open in this area a few years ago. However, due to economic factors, the operation has been cancelled indefinitely. Scotland's most famous mineral deposit at Leadhills and Wanlockhead started out mining for gold. The eventual decline in the extraction of this metal turned attentions to the rich lead ores that also occured in the area. Its lead deposit has since given it world fame - particularly as a result of the rare and common, lead mineral species found there. As for the gold, it occurs in situ in the surrounding Lowther Hills in small veins. As the gold gets eroded out of its matrix, it eventually drops into the nearest burn as nuggets, great or small. Nowadays, the best way to get some gold from this area is to pan for it. |
Native GOLD |
SILVER from Silver Glen, Alva, Clackmannan, Scotland. In the last couple of decades, waste dumps were scoured on a small and forgotten occurence of cobalt and silver ore that was worked at the start of the 18th century (around 1715). On the edge of the Ochil Hills, near Alva, in the "wee county", Clackmannan, it is the richest deposit of silver in the United Kingdom. When the small dumps of the site were
scoured, they revealed superb, small specimens of
skeletal and arborescent groups of native silver
crystals, some associated with accessory erythrite or
with crystalline masses of the rare species,
clinosafflorite, a cobalt arsenide mineral. The common
and predominant habit of the silver is as dendrites with
90° branches. Other habits occur, but are rarer. |
Though crystallized specimens are generally small, only up to around 5mms, a very few, larger specimens were uncovered. The Hunterian Museum of Glasgow University has one such specimen extracted from the time of the original mining period with crystallized silver groups to 3cms on matrix. Analysis has revealed the silver is rich in mercury, containing around 10-15% of this element. Alva silver therefore approaches amalgam in its chemical constitution rather than the "kongsbergite" variety of silver, which is also mercury-rich. Additional analysis may also reveal more rare species or possibly new ones from this occurence. The Alva silver mine is now barren: a later extraction has since cleaned out the deposit and the location is now part of a trustland. A full account of the extraordinary history of the Alva Silver Mine is related in the recently published book entitled, "Bonanzas & Jacobites: The Story of the Silver Glen" by Dr. S. Moreton and published by NMS Enterprises Ltd. It is available for purchase through Amazon or other online bookstores. |
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ALVA SILVER - Photo Gallery |
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Other Scottish Silver Occurences A similar, but less rich occurence of silver
and cobalt is found at Hilderston in the Bathgate Hills,
near Edinburgh. Several other very small finds of native silver in Scotland include localities situated on the Clyde Plateau Lavas of Carboniferous age around Glasgow. Boyleston Quarry near Barrhead (Renfrewshire) and Loanhead Quarry, near Beith (Ayrshire) are two examples of such occurences. At both localities, silver occurs both as very small, microscopic wires and as crystals, the latter often in complex forms and, quite regularly, is associated with native copper. Native silver is found only in very
insignificant amounts in Scotland. In the past, silver
was extracted |
| Acknowledgement A special thank you
to a Scottish gold prospector and panner who will remain
anonymous. References / Further Reading The
Mineralogical Record - vol. 27, no. 6; pp
405-414. "The Alva Silver Mine, Silver Glen, Alva,
Clackmannan, Scotland." S. Moreton (1996). © Minerals of Scotland - 2008 |
