Ramelius Resources Limited certainly picked a fitting mascot for its name. The story begins in Germany, over 1000 years ago.
Rammelsberg is a mountain located on the northern edge of the Harz range, south of the historic town of Goslar in the North German state of Lower Saxony.
Rammelsberg Mines, also known as “The Thousand Year-old Mine” - was the longest operating base metal mine in the world. It opened in the 10th century and operated uninterrupted for over 1000 years. The mine was finally depleted and closed in 1988 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage listed museum.
According to legend, Rammelsberg mountain was named after a knight called "Ramm", who was a henchman or Saxon nobleman of Emperor Otto the Great. Other sources claim the name Rammelsberg may be derived from the widespread “ramsons” or “ramsen” – a bush variety of garlic - found on the mountain slopes. In 968 (some say 938) whilst out hunting, the Saxon nobleman named “Ramm” tied his horse- named “Ramelius” - to a tree, in order to pursue deer through the difficult mountain terrain. The legend reads when Ramm, the Saxon nobleman returned, he discovered that “Ramelius” had impatiently scraped the earth away with his hooves to reveal a rich silver-lead vein in what would become a very famous and profitable 1000-year operating mine in Germany.
The story behind the Ramelius horse also has some remarkable similarities to that of the Norseman goldfields in Western Australia. In August 1894, Lawrence and George Sinclair discovered a rich gold reef in the area. It is said that Sinclair’s horse had scratched the ground with his hooves to reveal gold and subsequently Sinclair named the town after his horse, Hardy Norseman.
On a more recent note, a thoroughbred racing horse named Ramelius Gold was the result of an early investor in Ramelius Resources doing very well. It is believed the horse went on to win many races in the early years.