Hilderston or Hilderstone in West Lothian, Scotland, was the site of the discovery of a vein of silver in 1606 and a mining operation that attracted international interest. King James used rumours of a silver bonanza to leverage a loan in the City of London. He took over the mine works, an act sometimes regarded as an example of nationalization.[1] The enterprise may have inspired a satirical stage play. On 8 May 1608 work commenced under royal supervision. Miners from Cornwall and Germany were employed in the works.[2] 55°55′33″N 3°37′00″W / 55.9259°N 3.6166°W
Hilderston is near Cairnpapple Hill in the Bathgate Hills. Contemporary descriptions of the silver ore seem to refer to native silver, mercury amalgams, arsenical content, and nickeline,[3] found in "native silver bearing carbonate veins".[4]
- ^ Alec Livingstone, Minerals of Scotland: Past and Present (Edinburgh, 2002), p. 127.
- ^ Photos-Jones, E., Hall, A., Pollard, T., Meikle, T.K. and Newlands, A., 'The manner of how it grew was like unto the haire of a man’s head: the early 1600's discovery and exploitation of native silver at Hilderstone in Scotland', Suzanne Young, Metals in Antiquity, BAR, 792 (Oxford, 1999), pp. 280–289.
- ^ Richard Smith & T. Kemp Meikle, 'The Smelting of Silver Ore from Hilderston Mine at Linlithgow', British Mining, 61, (NMRS, 1998), pp. 5–19
- ^ C. M. Rice, 'Metalliferous Minerals', Nigel Trewin, The Geology of Scotland (London, 2002), p. 446.