Augustana College Augustana Digital Commons Celebration of Learning May 3rd, 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Elemental Contamination of an Ancient Copper Mine in Killarney, Ireland Courtney Chouinard Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/celebrationoflearning Part of the Geology Commons Augustana Digital Commons Citation Chouinard, Courtney. "Elemental Contamination of an Ancient Copper Mine in Killarney, Ireland" (2017). Celebration of Learning. https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/celebrationoflearning/2017/presentations/9 This Oral Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Celebration of Learning by an authorized administrator of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Elemental Contamination of an Ancient Copper Mine in Killarney National Park, Killarney, Ireland A senior thesis written by Courtney L. Chouinard in partial fulfillment of the graduation requirements for the major in geology Augustana College Rock Island, IL 61201 2017 ABSTRACT Ross Island Copper Mine, located in Killarney National Park, Killarney, Ireland, is known for archeological artifacts of copper from the Bronze Age. Copper production surged in the late 1700s and into the mid-1800s. The mine included both open pits (e.g. Blue Hole) and underground excavations (e.g. Western Mine). Copper veins were found in the Mississippian-aged limestone bedrock along with chalcopyrite and tennantite ore. In 1912, tourism had become the main source of income in the area, and the mines and the land surrounding them were remediated and became a part of the national park. Mine shafts were filled in, waste piles were moved or disposed of, and trees were planted.