Welsh Gold Legacy, and a New Chapter Being Written for Clogau

Then and now: Clogau’s entrance in 1957 and today, as underground blasting restarts at Llechfraith (Dec 2025). Left image credit: Historic surface entrance area, 1957, ‘Y Clogau’ Gold Mine, Bontddu (Flickr) 

Clogau is one of Wales’ most iconic gold mines, known for producing Welsh gold with a story that runs through generations. This photo from 1957 is a reminder that Clogau has seen multiple chapters.

In 2025, Alba’s work proved something important: the significant premium which has historically been said to attach to Welsh gold remains a very real proposition today. The gravity concentrate produced from Alba’s test production to date was refined into gold and used to mint limited edition 1 oz Welsh gold coins, which were sold in each case for around 8.5 times the then spot price of gold.

Now, in December 2025, we are moving from that proof of concept into the next practical step underground, by seeking to establish that there is sufficient grade of gold in Alba’s primary Llechfraith Target to underpin further development of the Mine. The blast area was cleared following the previous test blast, and the first blast has now been successfully completed. After a brief hiatus over the Christmas period, the blasting and bulk sampling programme is expected to resume from early January onwards.

Next steps:
Controlled underground blasting has begun and will continue into the new year. The objective is to collect a substantial bulk sample to assess the gold grade within the first 20 m horizontal development, which is expected to intersect the projected payshoot extension defined in Alba’s earlier exploration drilling programmes. Updates will focus on progress and observations as the programme advances.