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There be gold thar: Scottish hamlet braced for rush after prospectors find deposits
Turkish mining giants Koza Altin Isletmeleri and a Highland firm GreenOre seek planning permission after gold is found in a remote hamlet called Towie
A tiny Scottish hamlet named Towie is bracing itself for the world's next gold rush after prospectors found evidence that it sits on major deposits.
The remote community in Aberdeenshire does not even have a shop but local streams have been well known for grains of gold of "significant size" for decades.
Towie has been ignored by investors in favour of the oil industry but a two-year investigation has revealed the possible existence of gold deposits worth millions.
Turkish mining giants Koza Altin Isletmeleri and a Highland firm GreenOre are now seeking planning permission for further investigation.
GreenOre managing director Gavin Berkenheger, 31, said: "This area in Aberdeenshire has all the right hallmarks of a major deposit to be hiding underneath the surface.
"We looked at the geology and found some really exciting rocks with potential for a large deposit.
"Over two years we have found that the whole of Aberdeenshire is a ripe area for gold mineralisation. We're just trying to locate where in Aberdeenshire the gold deposit is."
He added: "A 3.5 million ounce gold deposit is currently being developed by Dalradian Gold in Northern Ireland. We hope to repeat this success."
Sleepy Towie, population 300, has a single road, a few houses, primary school, church, graveyard and a community hall.
Gold was discovered by Aberdeen University in nearby Rhynie in the 1990s and has long been spotted in local streams.
GreenOre Gold has been working on the site for the last two years and more recently received backing from Koza, controlled by Turkish businessman Hamdi Akin Ipek.
They have carried out test drills with more planned with pemission.
Mr Berkenheger said the the development of a gold mine was at a very early stage but claimed the area had "enormous potential"
Local streams have been well known for grains of gold of "significant size" for decades
He added: "We're testing the rock and soil to sample whether it has the potential for gold beneath it.
"We're trying to locate where this deposit will be and we will jump those hurdles when we get there.
"The only way we will know for sure is when we start drilling which we hope to be doing next year.
"Initially we will cover the area with stream sediment sampling - the old-school way.
"Then from the streams with high gold content, we will crack open any rocks we think have the potential of hosting gold.
"The mineral sector has neglected for too long in Scotland because we're so rich with oil and gas but we don't have to be so reliant on that because we're also rich with mineral deposits."
Locals said the prospect of finding gold was "exciting".
Rhynie village & Tap O' Noth (Pictish Hill Fort) in Aberdeenshire
Peter Argyle, local councillor for Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside, said: "Having gold in the area is a very exciting prospect, but it is something that will require a great deal of thought and consultation.
"Having pinched myself and checked the diary that today wasn't the First of April, I started to think about it.
"I'm only just beginning to wrap my head around it.
"At the moment I'm neither jumping up and down or have my head in my hands in dismay. I think we need a lot more information."
Resident Eileen Davies, 79, said: "We lack population so it could be good for the area. With these kinds of things some people will like it, and some people won't."
Towie resident and full-time mum Jade Anderson added: "If it brings jobs to the community then I am all for it - but only as long as it doesn't affect the farming community because that is what the area is about."
GreenOre already has a licence from the Crown Estate to search for gold in the undulating hills between Rhynie and Aboyne.
Aberdeenshire Council declined to comment before the submission of planning applications and said they would "wait to see if it comes about".