The gold of Clogau St David's mine in north west Wales has been worn by Britain's Royal Family for generations.

When the now Princess of Wales, Catherine married the Prince of Wales William she accepted her gold wedding band sourced from the depths of the Welsh hillside near Dolgellau.

The gold of Clogau St David's mine in north west Wales has been worn by Britain's Royal Family for generations. When the now Princess of Wales, Catherine married the Prince of Wales William she accepted her gold wedding band sourced from the depths of the Welsh hillside near Dolgellau.

Those who have also worn the gold from the deep, gritty cavern include the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne and Diana, Princess of Wales.

But Clogau gold has long been sought after not just due to its connection to the royals but its rarity. Since 1854 the mine, accessible the miners via ladders pushed through holes, has produced 80,000oz of gold, while the world's biggest gold mines can extract more than 1,000,000oz in a single year.

The mine ceased operations in 1998 with resources assumed to have been exhausted, but it has now been reopened by Alba Mineral Resources who in 2018 acquired a licence to mine again at what was once the UK's richest gold mine.

It has taken much work to ensure the mine is up to modern safety regulation standards. Alba acquired the mine with the belief new technology could reveal new seams of gold.

And their gamble has paid off as gold is being mined from way below the surface of the Eryri hills again. In March one single coin at 1oz from the mine sold for £20,000 - well over the current gold price.

The coin features an image of a dragon on top of the nearby mountain of Cadair Idris on one side and miners on the other as a tribute to those who worked at Clogau St David's in its heyday.

A maximum of 12 people can currently work at the site but there is scope for many more if the gold Alba hopes to find is really under the surface.

Photographer Matthew Horwood was invited to the mine by Mark Austin, Chief Operating Officer at Alba Mineral Resources, and his team to see how they're getting on. You can see pictures taken this week from the mine below.