Anglesey Mining has teamed up with Ireland’s QME Mining to investigate and assess the mining potential of its Parys Mountain site in north-east Anglesey. The site, marked by the red icon on the Google Map above, has been preliminarily investigated already, with gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper found in the area.
This deal will see QME, an established mining firm from Co. Meath near Dublin, inspect the historic mining site from now until June 2019. It will then present its findings to Anglesey Mining and, depending on the findings, the Welsh mining firm will then decide whether to proceed with establishing a mine.
Should Anglesey Mining go ahead with re-opening a mine at Parys Mountain then QME will have exclusive operational rights. They will establish a new mine and renovate a former copper mine at the site, from their own funds. In return, Anglesey Mining will give QME Mining 30% undivided joint venture interest in the project.
The Parys Mountain mining site. Photo courtesy of Anglesey Mining.
In a press release on the Anglesey Mining website, Chief Executive Bill Hooley said: “We consider this to be a very important and positive step forward in the development of the Parys Mountain mine.
“QME is experienced in underground mine development and has developed and recruited the necessary skills in mine planning to deliver local and relevant underground mining expertise to Parys Mountain that will assist Anglesey to move forward with the development of the Parys Mountain project at no direct cash cost to Anglesey or dilution of its shareholders.”
Feasibility work at the mountain site reports around 2.1 million tonnes of combined base metals, with estimates of 6.9% of all the ore being one of the five listed metals. Micon International published a report in July last year about the site, forecasting a mining rate of approximately 1,000 tonnes per day and an overall mine life of eight years. Their report suggested an additional 4.1 million tonnes of resources – not officially stated in the findings – due to the uncertainty of the inference. QME’s investigation is expected to assess whether these suggestions have any validity, offering up a greater output or longer lifespan for any mining venture at the site.
The news of the agreement comes just over a week since Alba Mineral Resources announced it was assessing a 20-mile stretch of land near Dolgellau in Gwynedd. The region, still in the north-west of Wales, is 60 miles away or more from Anglesey, but two precious metal finds in the region could spark a new wave of interest in Welsh mining.
Below you can see an interview between Anglesey CEO Bill Hooley and Proactive London’s Andrew Scott discussing the Welsh mining venture:
