Strontian

Strontian (strɒnˈtiːən; Sròn an t-Sìthein s̪ɾɔːn̪ɣ ən̪ɣ ˈtjiː.ɪn) is the main village in Sunart, an area in western Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, on the A861 road. Prior to 1975 it was part of Argyllshire. It lies on the north shore of Loch Sunart, close to the head of the loch. In the hills to the north of Strontian lead was mined in the 18th century and in these mines the mineral strontianite was discovered, from which the element strontium was first isolated. The village name in Gaelic, Sròn an t-Sìthein, translates as the nose [i.e. 'point'] of the fairy hill, meaning a knoll or low round hill inhabited by the mythological sídhe. The nearby hamlets of Anaheilt, Bellsgrove, and Upper and Lower Scotstown are now generally considered part of Strontian, with Polloch several miles away on the terminus of the road to Loch Shiel. Strontian is the location of Ardnamurchan High School, the local fire station, police station and other facilities. It was observed in the 19th century that there is granite on one side of the Strontian mines and gneiss on the other. The area immediately around the village is Granodiorite, part of a larger intrusion of around that extends south as far as Loch Linnhe. This is surrounded by a Hornblende Biotite Granite, giving way in the south to a Tonalite. The rocks are around 385 to 453 million years old, intruded into the metasediments of the Moine Supergroup. It has been postulated that it was emplaced in the shear zone termination of an offshoot of the Great Glen fault and that it may be diapiric in form. The history of mining in the Strontian area dates to 1722, when Sir Alexander Murray discovered galena in the hills the region. A mine was opened in 1725, in partnership with Thomas Howard, 8th Duke of Norfolk and General Wade. Various materials have been mined here including lead, and strontianite, which contains the element named after the village, Strontium. While there have been inhabitants of the area for centuries, particularly in the woods north of the current village, the community as it exists now was established in 1724 to provide homes for the local mining workers.