Gold discovered in British rivers

Press, 22 July 1989, Page 35

Gold discovered in British rivers

By

TONY VERDON

in London Landowners could be sitting on gold mines in the West Country of Britain, after recent discoveries by the British Geological Survey.

Scientists have found gold particles in rivers in Devon and Cornwall, suggesting the area may hold the largest deposits in England.

The discovery was made after scientists studied satellite photographs and made chemical analyses. Students and geologists then panned the Devon rivers Erme and Avon.

A spokesman for the survey said the geologists were pleased they had been proven right in finding a group of rocks where they had predicted there was a high chance

of finding gold, and where no-one had suspected its presence before.

“It looks like one of the better prospects in the United Kingdom, possibly the best in England,” he said.

The aim now was to attract industry willing to invest tens of millions of pounds in extracting the gold. By law any organisation wanting to mine gold in Britain requires a licence from the Crown, which will take royalties. But private landowners, who would be able to charge for mining rights, reacted to the news with scepticism and concern.

A farmer at Avedon Gifford, Mr David Balkwill, told the “Daily Telegraph” newspaper: "I am not particularly pleased about it, we have enough trespasses.”