The Silvermine Mountains or Silvermines Mountains ( ga, Sliabh an Airgid) are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The highest peak of the range is Keeper Hill or Slievekimalta at high. Traditionally, the mountains were deemed to be part of the Slieve Felim Mountains. Tempan, Paul (2006)
"Two Mountain Names: Slieve Felim and Mauherslieve"
. ''North Munster Antiquarian Journal'', volume 6. pp.120-122 The village of

Silvermines Silvermines, historically known as Bellagowan (), is a village in County Tipperary in Ireland. It lies immediately north of the Silvermine mountain range and takes its name from the extensive mines of lead, zinc, copper, baryte and silver nearb ...

is located to the north of the mountains and has been a mining centre since the 14th century. There are three

Special Areas of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

on the Silvermine Mountains; the Silvermine Mountains SAC is known for its Northern Atlantic wet heaths, with ''

Erica tetralix ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europ ...

'' and species-rich '' Nardus'' grassland; the Silvermines Mountains West SAC is known for its Northern Atlantic wet heaths, with ''Erica tetralix'', and its European dry heaths and Calaminarian grasslands where the levels of heavy metals, such as lead, are high, and are toxic to many plant species; and Keeper Hill SAC, known for its Northern Atlantic wet heaths with ''Erica tetralix'' and blanket bogs.

History

The oldest records of mine workings here date to 1289 when miners from Italy were working the seams. Silver was extracted for use in coinage, and lead for materials for the roof of new monasteries being built in the 13th century. Mining continued sporadically over the next 600 years. By the mid-nineteenth century, there were three engine houses with beam engines for crushing, winding and pumping. A new phase of activity occurred in the 1960s when a new rich deposit was found which was worked on the surface and underground. Operations ceased in 1984 but left behind them waste tips and tailings ponds.

Slieve Felim Way

The Slieve Felim Way, a long-distance trail through the Silvermine and Slieve Felim Mountains has a trail-head in the village of

. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...

and is managed by

Shannon Development Shannon Development (legally the ''Shannon Free Airport Development Company Limited'' formerly known as SFADCO) was an important regional development body for the Shannon Region of Ireland. Its area in the lower River Shannon basin comprised a ...

and Coillte.

References

{{Mountains and hills of Munster Mountains and hills of County Limerick Mountains and hills of County Tipperary Special Areas of Conservation in the Republic of Ireland