History of Amlwch Anglesey - Case Study Example

Running Head: Constructing Profile Constructing Profile of the of the of the . History of AmlwchAmlwch is a small town situated on the north eastern side of the island of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales. The island of Anglesey connects Amlwch to the Menai Bridge. Tourism is the one of the main industries that supports the economy of the town today. At one point of history this town was an important port. History reveals that Amlwch in the Middle Ages had a harbor that could not be viewed from the sea; this prevented the town from being attacked by the Vikings.

The town grew rapidly during the eighteenth century near the Parys Mountain, which was at that time had the biggest copper mines of the world. By the late 18th century Amlwch was on the most populated towns of Wales. By this time the harbor of Amlwch was extended to include ships to transport copper from the town. The copper from the mines of Amlwch was used to protect the ships of war from the growth of seaweed and boring by worms. But because of excessive export and use of copper, with time the reserves of the copper mines started to diminish.

Also the competition from cheaper copper and other ores from abroad by the mid 18th century, led to the overall decline of the deep mining industry in Amlwch. The copper ore was initially extracted from shallow shafts and then through open pit mining in Amlwch. Later it used to be extracted from shafts up to three hundred meter deep. After extraction the ore used to be broken into pieces by hand and then transported to South Wales for smelting. The metal copper used to be extracted from the remainder with the help of furnaces that were present at the port of Amlwch itself.

Many other chemical industries that were based on the by products of the mines were also established. These chemical industries included those of alum, vitriol, sulphur and chrome pigments. By the mid of the 18th century the popularity of copper mining industry had declined in the town, and ship building industry had gained popularity. Many people of the town then involved themselves in the ship repair and other maritime related work.The acid mine drainage in AmlwchMillions of years ago the mud of Parys Mountain originated in the sea basin.

In those same times submarine volcanoes were erupting lavas; the fumes that these volcanoes erupted produced deposits of metal ores on the sea basins. In later periods the distortions of the earths crust lead to the deformation of these ores. The distortion and weathering of the deposits of the ores of Parys Mountain have led to the present acidic conditions in the mountain. The acid mine drainage or the acid rock drainage is a term used to describe an outflow of acidic water from the mines (usually coal and metal mines).

Also from other places where earth has been disturbed like construction places, transportation areas etc acid drainage takes place. It can also occur naturally as a part of the process of rock weathering. Mining in Amlwch took place in an era when there used to be few environmental controls in the mining places. Thus environmental degradation has occurred in Amlwch. Currently there has been widespread contamination of the mine areas and the land around it. The river Avoca has been facing serious problems from acid mine drainage (Gallagher and O Connor, 1999).

It has been severely affected by the mining activities and it is one of the most highly polluted of river in Ireland. High rates of mortality in 2003 were increased by recurring deaths of fish in rivers due to discharge from copper mines of Amlwch and Avoca (Lucey, 2005). The salmonid migratory species that was present in large numbers before the large scale mining in the 18th century; now they have reduced to a stock of less then two percent. National Water Quality Reports have consistently reported the biotic indices of zero along the stretch of rivers near Amlwch and Acovan mines.

The reports have also mentioned about the highly increased concentration of metals that are present in the sediments of those stretch of rivers. A Celtic Copper Heritage (CCH) Program has been started recently that aims to bring out the historical copper mining tradition in Amlwch as means of generating social and economic prosperity for the deprived communities residing at that place. It also aims to launch projects that will develop new research facilities, protect the quality of water in the rivers around Amlwch and conserve and the industrial heritage of Amlwch.

References1. Gallagher V, O' Connor P. (1999). Review article: The Avoca Mine Site, in Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol 99 B, No 1 43-57. 2. Lucey J (2005). Water Quality in Ireland Key Indicators of the Aquatic Environment. Complied by John Lucey for Environment Protection Agency.3. A Doyle, P.O Connor, D Harrington, W Roche and N. Johnstone. (2007) . International Partnership Addressing Heritage Potential And Remediation of Mine Drainage Impacts On The River Avoca and At Amlwch.

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