Tynagh Mine (Tynaugh Mine), Killimor, Co. Galway, Ireland

While "Tynaugh" may be found on some labels and/or in some references, it is a mis-spelling and should not be used.

A giant, polymetallic deposit which produced nearly a million tonnes of lead, zinc and copper before it closed in 1982. Much of the ore was oxidised and vast quantities of museum-grade azurite, malachite, cerussite, native copper etc. were processed before collectors finally realised what was happening. By then, most was gone.
The open-cast is now flooded and the tips landscaped and covered in soil and grass. A power station has recently been built on the site. The few patches the landscapers have missed have been prolific. Whilst the large, showy pieces are long gone, the site remains a micromounters paradise. Over 100 species have so far been found, many of them rare arsenates, making this locality one of international importance.

The main spoil heap remains untouched amidst all the power station construction but was already landscaped and grassed over anyway. The crusher area (which had been prolific), and mine building area are affected by the power plant.
Tynagh Energy ONLY own where their power plant is and have concreted all their land.
The remainder of the site is on Priority Drilling's land and parts still yield minerals.

References:
- Economic Geology and the Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists 60 (1965) 1218-1237.
- Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, Section B: Applied Earth Science 84 (1975) B128-B133.
- Geologische Rundschau 69 (1980) 361-383.
- Economic Geology 76 (1981) 27-55.
- Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, Section B: Applied Earth Science 90 (1981) B115-B119.
- Nature 313 (1985) 128-31.
- European Journal of Mineralogy 4 (1992) 921-931.
- Economic Geology 97 (2002) 471-480.
- Mineral. Rec.: 20(5): 396.