IRISH GOLD! N. Ireland mud pit could yield 30,000 ounces of gold a year.

Digging for Northern Ireland's gold

By Clare Matheson Business reporter, BBC News, Northern Ireland

As an open cast mine, overheads at Galantas will be lowerNestled in the green hills near Omagh in Northern Ireland is a vast mudpit that mining firm Galantas hope will soon - literally - become a goldmine.

The temporary buildings serving as the firm's headquarters are buzzing with staff and the noise of digging.

Just minutes away, along a path only traversable by a 4x4 offroader, is a vein of ore the group hopes will be producing as much as 30,000 ounces of gold a year.

As vice president of exploration Moe Lavigne tells the story of the group's beginnings, it seems as though the firm has had the luck of the Irish in getting off the ground.