Welcome to the website for the 2025 NAMHO conference.  NAMHO is the National Association of Mining History Organisations with members based in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

This year, the conference is based near Llanrwst and Trefriw in the Conwy Valley of North Wales.   The main venue for the lectures and social events is the Nant Conwy Rugby Football Club, alongside the B5106 road (Conwy to Betws-y-Coed).   We will have the use of the new, extended clubhouse opened in 2011.  Camping is on the grounds of the Club.  Details of the Rugby Club can be found on Wikipedia or on their public website (not currently accessible on 28/01/2025).

The conference will be held over a long weekend from Thursday, 26th June to Wednesday, 2nd July 2025.   The venue will be open from 1200 on Friday 28th June.  More details are provided on this website.  Some events may fall outside the dates shown.  Camping will be available from Wednesday night, 25th June to Tuesday night, 1st July.

The theme of the conference is ""Mwyngloddio yng Ngogledd Cymru" - "Mining in North Wales"".  This pretty well covers any mining activity in North Wales but given the range of minerals extracted, this is how it should be. The area (roughly from Wrexham to Anglesey and south to a line from Dolgellau to Oswestry) includes mining for:

• Slate (throughout the area)
• Lead (e.g. Halkyn Mountain and Gwydyr Forest)
• Copper (e.g. Great Orme and Anglesey)
• Limestone (e.g. Halkyn Mountain)
• Coal (e.g. Ruabon and Flint)
• Sulphur (e.g. Gwydyr Forest)
• Gold (e.g. Dolgellau)
• Zinc (e.g. Minera and Gwydyr Forest)
• Manganese (e.g. Llyn Peninsular)
• Iron (e.g. near Bangor)

Before, during and after the conference, opportunities will be provided to visit some of the sites.   These visits will be publicised through the Surface and Underground Trips pages on this site.   

Besides the lectures and visits, NAMHO Conferences have a tradition of providing a meeting place for like-minded people with opportunities to socialise.   To support this aim, a conference meal is arranged for the Saturday night and there will be a suitably well-stocked bar run by the Rugby Club team so you can be sure of not drinking it dry and of having reasonable prices.

A conference Tee-Shirt is available to order on the booking form.  This year, the T-shirts will be FREE so don't miss out - but make sure you order by 31st May.  There is a range of sizes from small to 5XL.  The design is a Welsh dragon holding a helmet and light and is shown to the left.  It will be printed in colour on a grey tee-shirt.  There might be one or two spares if you did not book in time.  Thanks are due to Kelvin Lake for the splendid design.

As in 2024, the conference is being organised by a NAMHO team, mostly derived from the NAMHO officers, with the enormous benefit from having Les Williams, organiser of Hidden Earth, taking a leading role.

To book on the conference, please follow the booking link on the menu bar above or go direct to the booking page.