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39-616: Beinn Chùirn is a hill five kilometres (3.1 miles) west-south-west of Tyndrum , Scotland , standing on the border of Stirlingshire and Perthshire at the northern extremity of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park . Beinn Chùirn reaches a height of 880 metres (2,890 feet) and qualifies as a Corbett and a Marilyn . It stands in the Cononish valley in the company of three other mountains ( Ben Lui , Ben Oss and Beinn Dubhchraig which are all Munros and tend to overshadow

78-523: A Munro , Tyndrum is built over the battlefield where Clan MacDougall defeated Robert the Bruce in 1306, and supposedly took from him the Brooch of Lorn . The village is notable as a junction of transport routes. The West Highland Line railway from Glasgow splits approximately 5 miles (8 km) to the south at Crianlarich , with one branch heading to Fort William and the other to Oban . Tyndrum has

117-631: A lead smelter being built in the mid-18th century in Strath Fillan just outside Tyndrum. The lead ore was brought off the hill and down directly to the smelter by a "gravity" track. At the time of the 1745 Jacobite rising , the English Jacobite Sir Robert Clifton owned the lease for the mine; the Argyle Militia suspected that Clifton was making the lead into bullets and sabotaged the workings and burned

156-471: A layer of the lightest elements referred to as speiss , including arsenic and antimony floating to the top of the molten material. The crude bullion and lead slag layers flow out of the 'furnace front' and into the 'forehearth', where the two streams are separated. The lead slag stream, containing most of the 'fluxing' elements added to the sintering machine (predominantly silica, limestone, iron and zinc) can either be discarded or further processed to recover

195-472: A review of its activities following disappointing production figures and suspended share trading in September 2023. Lead smelter Lead is usually smelted in a blast furnace , using the lead sinter produced in the sintering process and coke to provide the heat source. As melting occurs, several layers form in the furnace. A combination of molten lead and slag sinks to the bottom of the furnace, with

234-562: A station on each branch: Upper Tyndrum on the Fort William line and Tyndrum Lower on the Oban line. Thus unusually there are two stations serving the same small village, only a few hundred yards apart, but about 10 miles (16 km) apart by rail. Indeed, Tyndrum is the smallest settlement in the UK with more than one railway station. This is partly a legacy of the history of the railways in

273-778: Is no known amount of lead that is too small to cause the body harm. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization state that a blood lead level of 10 μg/dL or above is a cause for concern; however, lead may impair development and have harmful health effects even at lower levels, and there is no known safe exposure level. Authorities such as the American Academy of Pediatrics define lead poisoning as blood lead levels higher than 10 μg/dL. Lead smelters with little pollution controls contribute to several environmental problems, especially raised blood lead levels in

312-478: Is separated by a col of 473 metres, while three kilometres to the south-west lies the Munro Ben Lui across a col of 434 metres. The hill has a fine east-facing corrie, Coire na Saobhaidhe , which is small but has steep walls. Just north of the summit at a height of 810 metres is an unnamed circular lochan about 100 metres in diameter. A ridge that goes south-east from the summit contains a gorge down which

351-475: Is similar in structure to a cupola furnace used in iron foundries . The furnace is charged with slag, scrap iron, limestone, coke, oxides, dross, and reverberatory slag. The coke is used to melt and reduce the lead. Limestone reacts with impurities and floats to the top. This process also keeps the lead from oxidizing. The molten lead flows from the blast furnace into holding pots. Lead may be mixed with alloys, including antimony, tin, arsenic, copper and nickel. It

390-423: Is then cast into ingots . Humans have been smelting lead for thousands of years, poisoning themselves in the process. Although lead poisoning is one of the oldest known work and environmental hazards, the modern understanding of the small amount of lead necessary to cause harm did not come about until the latter half of the 20th century. No safe threshold for lead exposure has been discovered—that is, there

429-761: Is usually skimmed off and sent to a dross furnace to recover the non-lead components which are sold to other metal manufacturers. The Parkes process is used to separate silver or gold from lead. Finally, the molten lead is refined. Pyrometallurgical methods are usually used to remove the remaining non-lead components of the mixture, for example the Betterton-Kroll process and the Betts electrolytic process . The non-lead metals are usually sold to other metal processing plants. The refined lead may be made into alloys or directly cast. People who operate or work in such plants are also referred to as smelters . Galena ,

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468-487: The Allt Eas Anie flows in a series of waterfalls, one of which is quite large and impressive. This gorge gives a challenging ice climb when frozen in winter. The northern slopes which fall to Glen Lochy are clothed in coniferous woodland below the 350-metre contour. Drainage from this northern slope finds its way to the west coast of Scotland at Dalmally via the rivers Lochy and Orchy. Drainage from all other parts of

507-651: The Scottish economy. Following planning difficulties, which featured in the BBC Four programme Tales from the National Parks , and a fall in the price of gold, opening of the mine was again delayed. In an update on the project released by Scotgold in May 2015, total ore reserves are now estimated at 198,000 ozt (6,200 kg) of gold and 851,000 ozt (26,500 kg) of silver. In July 2023, Scotgold began

546-541: The UK excluding Sutherland , and by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Furthermore, tests have been successful and an estimated £170 million worth (of which £65 million is tax-exempt) of precious metals are in the site. The mining would commence over a ten-year period and at least fifty jobs would be created. The company Scotgold are considering the local area as well, because some of

585-587: The West Highland Way, locals talked positively of the project in the hills above them. The area has long attracted amateur gold panners, and John Riley, of Strathfillan community council says that the community is excited about the development. He also says that "The mine will provide obvious advantages in employment, training and education for young people and others in the community, which will have all sorts of knock-on effects on ancillary trades and hotels and guest houses." "People will want to come and see

624-583: The area, after two separate railways belonging to different railway companies were built through the village. However, the main reason is geography: splitting the line in Crianlarich allows the contours of the glen to be used to avoid very steep climbs heading north or west from Tyndrum. Roads mirror this division: the A82 from Glasgow to Fort William passes through Tyndrum, and the A85 to Oban splits off just north of

663-424: The contained zinc. The crude lead bullion, containing significant quantities of copper will then undergo 'copper drossing'. In this step elemental sulphur, usually in solid form is added to the molten crude lead bullion to react with the contained copper. A "matte" layer forms in this step, containing most of the copper originating from the crude lead bullion and some other impurities as metal sulfides. The speiss and

702-606: The forest following the water course into the Garbh Choirean and climbing onto the summit ridge. Another route starts from Tyndrum and goes over Meall Odhar via the Sròn nan Colan lead mines before continuing to Beinn Chùirn by the SE ridge. The summit is a large flat area with an old fence crossing it just north of the cairn. Initially, the local community down in the village of Tyndrum, a popular tourist and walking centre bisected by

741-613: The hill if transport can be organised. One route starts in the Cononish glen and uses the south-east ridge as a means of ascent, passing the old mine workings and waterfalls around the Eas Anie gorge on the way to the summit. The other route starts in Glen Lochy at grid reference NN263305 , there is no footbridge over the River Lochy but a railway bridge can be used to cross the river if it is in spate. The route then goes through

780-465: The kingdoms of the Picts and Dál Riata . In recent years the hill has received some publicity after the discovery of a vein of gold on its slopes. Beinn Chùirn has quite a high topographic prominence of 446 metres being surrounded by glens and low cols . To the north is Glen Lochy and to the south is the Cononish valley. Two kilometres to the east lies another Marilyn hill, Meall Odhar, from which it

819-527: The lead produced comes from secondary sources. Lead scrap includes lead-acid batteries, cable coverings, pipes, sheets and lead coated, or terne bearing, metals. Solder, product waste and dross may also be recovered for its small lead content. Most secondary lead is used in batteries. To recover lead from a battery, the battery is broken and the components are classified. The lead containing components are processed in blast furnaces for hard lead or rotary reverberatory furnaces for fine particles. The blast furnace

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858-460: The lease and start gold production within two years, for a period of eight years. To date there has been no gold production or bulk trial testing and projected output figures are based only on geochemical assay from borehole cores and samples from the tunnel. However, permission to commence commercial gold production has now been granted by the Crown Estate , which owns the rights to all gold in

897-414: The matte are usually sold to copper smelters where they are refined for copper processing. The lead from the blast furnace, called lead bullion, then undergoes the drossing process. The bullion is agitated in kettles then cooled to 700-800 degrees. This process results in molten lead and dross . Dross refers to the lead oxides , copper, antimony and other elements that float to the top of the lead. Dross

936-399: The mine began in the 1980s but low gold prices forced the closure of the mine before it became fully operational. In October 2011 it was announced that the mine would be reactivated. It was expected to employ 52 people and produce 163,000 troy ounces (5,100 kg) of gold and 596,000 ozt (18,500 kg) of silver over the next 10 years, thereby generating an estimated £80 million for

975-499: The mine. It will have a very beneficial effect. Obviously there are environmental issues but we think they have been adequately addressed." 56°25′25″N 4°47′18″W  /  56.4236°N 4.7883°W  / 56.4236; -4.7883 Tyndrum Tyndrum ( / t aɪ n ˈ d r ʌ m / ; Scottish Gaelic : Taigh an Droma ) is a small village in Scotland . Its Gaelic name translates as "the house on

1014-526: The miners' houses. In the ensuing years several firms tried to make a going concern of the mine including the Company of Mine Adventurers of England and the Scots Mining Company but turnover was greatly reduced by the end of the 19th century, and the last lead was extracted in 1923. Beinn Chùirn has two popular routes of ascent and used together they can be utilised for a complete traverse of

1053-798: The monetary system from gold to silver from the year 640 CE, with the principal source likely to be the Melle mines in France . Later airborne pollution, between the years 1170 and 1216 CE, correlates even more strongly with contemporaneous records of lead and silver production from mines in the Peak District of England, at levels similar to those seen in the Industrial Revolution . Georgius Agricola (1494–1555) presented details of lead smelting methods and facilities current in Europe in

1092-536: The money will go to the local community to help develop a visitor and heritage centre. They are also taking into account that the initial mine structure, set up in the 1980s and '90s, is within a national park, meaning they are considering the possible complications that this may bring. See "The Environmental Impacts of the Cononish Mine" section for further details. The Eas Anie site was a major lead mining area from 1739 until 1923. The amount of lead mined led to

1131-496: The most common mineral of lead , is primarily lead sulfide (PbS). The sulfide is oxidized to a sulfite (PbSO 3 ) which thermally decomposes into lead oxide and sulfur dioxide gas. (PbO and SO 2 ) The sulfur dioxide (like the carbon dioxide in the example above) is expelled, and the lead oxide is reduced. Anglesite , Cerussite , Pyromorphite , Mimetite and Wulfenite are other lead ores. Other elements frequently present with lead ores include zinc and silver . Most of

1170-460: The most important deposit found in Scotland so far, occurs as minute particles inside pyrite and galena which in turn occur in the quartz vein. Despite claims that there are up to a million tonnes of ore present on the site which could produce five tonnes of gold and about 25 tonnes of silver, the location was only developed briefly in the 1990s when an adit (tunnel) of approximately 1,280 metres

1209-509: The mountain goes to the east coast as it forms part of the headwaters of the River Tay . In 1984 a gold -bearing quartz vein was discovered by the Irish firm Ennex International on the lower south-eastern slopes of Beinn Chùirn just above Cononish Farm at Eas Anie. The company spent over £250,000 doing test drillings and were hopeful that the mine would be very productive. The gold, which is

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1248-509: The orders of Sir Robert Clifton . The Scots Mining Company owned the mineral rights to the area from 1768 to 1791, introducing water-powered crushing machinery. A church was built at Clifton in 1829 by Lady Glenorchy , which was reported in 1846 as being used by the Free Church of Scotland . The site of a gold mine is two miles (three kilometres) to the south and west of Tyndrum at Cononish, above Cononish Farm. Work on constructing

1287-640: The ridge". It lies in Strath Fillan , at the southern edge of Rannoch Moor . Tyndrum is a popular tourist village, and a noted stop on the A82 for road travellers to refresh at the Green Welly Stop or one of the several other cafés and hotels. There is a filling station . The village is on the West Highland Way , and has a campsite , hotel , bunkhouse and bed and breakfasts to accommodate walkers. Overshadowed by Ben Lui ,

1326-477: The smaller hill. When seen from the east, Beinn Chùirn looks like a smaller version of the neighbouring Ben Lui, both having impressive east-facing corries ; it is sometimes mistaken for Ben Lui by motorists on the A82 road in Strath Fillan. The hill's name translates from the Gaelic language as " cairn hill", This is thought to have originated because the hill was an important point on the ancient boundary between

1365-475: The surrounding population. The problem is particularly significant in many children who have grown up in the proximity to a lead smelter. The earliest known cast lead beads were thought found in the Çatalhöyük site in Anatolia ( Turkey ), and dated from about 6500 BC. They were later identified in fact to be made from cerussite and galena , minerals rich in, but distinct from, lead. Ancient smelting

1404-523: The village. Tyndrum is a former mining centre. The hamlet of Clifton (the row of cottages across the A82 from the Green Welly) is made up of the former mining cottages, and up the hillside beyond them the tailings of a former lead mine can be seen. Historical records indicate that the mine was exploited in several different phases between 1730 and 1928. Opencast mining was carried out from 1741 to 1745 under

1443-639: Was also used as a mortar in stone buildings, and as a writing material . Smeltmills were water-powered mills used to smelt lead or other metals. The Roman lead smelting has led to evidence of global pollution. Greenland ice cores from 500 BCE to 300 CE show measurably elevated lead content in the atmosphere. Researchers studying an ice core from Colle Gnifetti, in the Swiss part of the Monte Rosa massif , have found that higher historical European airborne lead pollution levels are associated with changes in

1482-454: Was done using loads of lead ore and charcoal in outdoor hearths and furnaces. Although lead is a common metal, its discovery had relatively little impact in the ancient world. It is too soft to be used for weapons (except possibly as sling projectiles) or for structural elements. However, being easy to cast and shape, it came to be extensively used in the classical world of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome for piping and storage of water. It

1521-516: Was driven into the hillside. In 1994, the Caledonian Mining Company acquired the mineral exploration concession with the intention of putting it into production; however, the falling price of gold meant that such a small deposit was uneconomic at the time. Higher gold prices in 2007 have led to renewed activity with Scotgold Resources of Perth, Western Australia, purchasing the mineral exploration concession and applying to extend

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