Gwynfynydd Gold Mine

[1] Gold was found in the Dolgellau area in the 1850s and a mining rush developed.

[3] By 1888, two hundred people were employed at the site, the gold being extracted by driving horizontal tunnels (adits) into the mountainside, with the miners working deep underground by candlelight.

This medal has been awarded annually since 1995 by the Machynlleth Tabernacl Trust, for excellence in the arts in Wales.

Recipients have included many outstanding Welsh artists, beginning with painter Sir Kyffin Williams in 1995.

[4] In April 1986, Queen Elizabeth II was presented with a kilogram of Welsh gold from the mine to celebrate her 60th birthday.