Mines with Placer Deposits

8 linked mines · Geology: Placer Deposits

Listed only where MineArchive's own research gives a reasonable evidential basis for the connection — not every mine where this geology might plausibly apply.

Mine	Region	Worked	Commodities	Connection
Cononish Mine	Stirling	1988–Production suspended September 2023; on care and maintenance	Gold, Silver	(well documented example) Alluvial gold has been recorded in the streams around Tyndrum since at least the 1600s, predating the hydrothermal vein mine later worked underground here.
Dolaucothi Gold Mines	Carmarthenshire	c. 70 AD–1938	Gold	(historical documentary reference) Archaeological evidence suggests gold extraction here may have begun as Bronze Age washing of gold-bearing river gravels, predating the Roman vein-following operation.
Felixstowe and Trimley Coprolite Diggings	Suffolk	Nodules identified in the Felixstowe cliffs in 1842–Worked out in this area by the 1880s	Coprolite	(well documented example) The mine's own geology field explicitly describes the phosphatic nodules as 'concentrated at the base of the Crag by marine reworking — heavy, durable material left behind as lighter sediment was carried away' — the placer mechanism, upgraded here from historical_reference now that the connection is spelled out on both records.
Glengonnar	South Lanarkshire	1239 (earliest record); worked from 16th century for gold–1940	Lead, Silver, Gold	(well documented example) The mine's own recorded history explicitly describes 16th-century alluvial gold working, with surviving 'gowd scaur' spoil mounds.
Hyndford Quarry	South Lanarkshire	1960s–Still active	Sand and Gravel	(historical documentary reference) The quarry works fluvial sand and gravel laid down by the River Clyde — water-sorted superficial deposits rather than solid rock. The link is to the depositional setting, not a claim that the workings are a mineral placer.
Kildonan Gold Rush	Highland	1869–1870 (formal ban on prospecting)	Gold	(well documented example) Britain's clearest example of a genuine gold rush built on placer (alluvial) gold in the Strath of Kildonan.
Marford Quarry	Wrexham	1927–1971	Sand and Gravel	(historical documentary reference) The quarry worked sand and gravel deposited by glacial meltwater in a delta terrace — water-sorted superficial material rather than solid rock. The link is to the depositional setting, not a claim that the workings are a mineral placer.
Wanlockhead	Dumfries and Galloway	13th century–1934	Lead, Copper, Silver, Zinc, Gold	(historical documentary reference) Early working relied on manual digging and gold-panning in local streams, before deeper vein mining began.

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