RE: Hope winters in Ireland aren't as nasty Let me comment on Irish winters from one who was born and raised about 60 minutes from the mine.
Someone once said "Ireland would be a great wee country if it had a roof over it."
Winters are wet and damp. It rarely goes below zero degrees C, perhaps about one week in January. There is very little snow and ice. It rains a lot but a plus 2 wet day in County Tyrone can be colder than a minus 10 day in Calgary.
While I don't have the experience to comment on these weather conditions affecting gold mining, I would suspect there would be little effect.
B436