Britain set for gold rush with new AI-powered mine more likely to generate £9million monthly
Cononish mine in the Trossachs National Park, Scotland, is expected to churn out 11st of gold and silver per month using ‘bot panners which sniff out precious metals better than humans
Britain is set for a gold rush with a new mine forecast to generate bullion worth nearly £9million-a-month – thanks to AI prospectors.
The Cononish mine in the Trossachs National Park, Scotland, is expected to churn out 11st of gold and silver per month using ‘bot panners which sniff out precious metals better than humans.
They will reduce the environmental impact of mining in a tourism hotspot.
The first gold concentrate is due to be extracted early next year with commercial production scheduled to begin in March.
The mine’s value has exploded as the global price of gold last week soared to a record £2,800-an-ounce while silver prices have hit a 14-year high.
Cononish is estimated to produce up to 2,500 ounces of concentrated gold per month.
With gold prices expected to exceed £3,000 an ounce next year that means the mine could be making over £100m-a-year.
Acrux Sorting Technology, which has bases in London and South Africa, bought a majority stake in SGZ Cononish Limited – the UK-registered company that operates the mine – six months ago.
Subsidiary Acrux Gold is now hiring a team of miners to make it operational.
Experts believe the gold vein could stretch for hundreds of miles beneath Scotland – triggering a rush of other companies desperate to cash in.
Sean Browne, chief executive officer of Acrux Gold, insisted there was no rush to make a fast buck as the price of gold is only expected to rise.
He said he was focussed on correcting past mistakes and convincing sceptics gold can be mined in a way that respects the national park’s beauty in a venue close to Loch Lomond.
That means introducing a dry mining technique that will reduce the amount of waste rock produced in the process.
New robot tech will sift through material to establish which harbours gold or silver and which is ‘waste’ rock – removing the need to crush and process all mined material.
Rock that is identified as not being required can then be returned to the mine rather than going through the full process of extraction using water, chemicals and power.
The extracted gold and silver is then shipped off for refining.
As well as streamlining the mining process the sorting technology reduces the amount of unnecessary rock crushing, waste and the risk of pollution from silt entering watercourses.
Sean said: “We will produce more gold and silver but it means our environmental footprint is reduced.
“For every one ounce the environmental impact is half.”
The mine holds a thin, unpredictable vein that ‘pinches and sweeps’, he said.
To avoid over-reliance on a single route Acrux plans to explore fresh areas using detailed drilling to the east and west of current sites so geologists can identify the best places to target.
Sean said: “With gold prices so high there’s the temptation to rush ahead.
“But it’s about getting everything ready and right.
“We’re not going to give in to temptation.
“If ever we were going to be judged by environmental performance, it’s here. We are very much going to put our money where our mouths are and there’s no better place to do that than in a national park. There’s been a lot of interest from jewellers who are keen to see Scottish gold produced on a consistent and sustainable basis
“We’re very focused on celebrating Scottish heritage and finding the right way to supply the jewellery and investment markets. We’re fairly comfortable we have seven years in the mine without any exploration. Beyond that we feel there’s a lot more.”
Identifying secondary gold veins could extend the life of the mine beyond 2035. Once all the gold has been extracted Sean plans to fully restore the landscape.
The new robot-mining plan has got the backing of Crown Estate Scotland which manages the rights to most naturally occurring gold and silver in the region.
The estate’s director of property Oster Milambo said: “So far I think the new operator is making the correct strides in terms of positive mitigations on the environment, how they have engaged with key stakeholders – ourselves included – the national park, and the local community.
“We have also seen the impact on the local economy in what they are planning in terms of the jobs they are going to create.”
Nick Kempe, who runs environmental blog Parkwatch, said the hi-tech plan to mine producing ‘less spoil’ was ‘potentially better’ than previous operations.
“But it doesn’t deal with the question of whether our national parks should have things like mines in them,” he said.
“The whole development is still entirely inappropriate.”
