EXTRACTING valuable minerals from beneath a site in a Wrexham village may be the key to saving it.

That is one of the suggestions being put forward by a community group in Cefn Mawr.

The Plas Kynaston Canal group is launching a campaign tomorrow to get the community to vote on what they want to see done with the former Monsanto/ Flexsys chemical works site.

They have drawn up a list of what might happen with the largely derelict site and want to know which the villagers would rather see.

The possibilities include leaving the site fenced-off forever, capping the site with concrete and building houses on it, or a full clean-up of the area.

A full clean-up is a real option, PKC campaigner Dave Metcalfe said, since it could be funded by extracting the rich minerals beneath the village.

Mr Metcalfe has been studying old mining maps of the geology of the area and said there is a lot left to mine.

“This is why Cefn Mawr came into existence in the first place – we’re sitting on a gold mine,” he said.

He said there was still coal, iron ore and black and dark shale beneath the ground.

In particular the shale could produce oil, ammonium sulphate for fertiliser, as well as possibly containing lead, copper, nickel, uranium and other rare metals.

“Mineral extraction could pay for remediation of the whole site, and create 100 to 200 jobs for local people.

“It could turn the economy around in the village – if we’re successful and if the community wants it.

“That’s why we want the community to decide over the next six months.”

PKC ultimately wants to see the Plas Kynaston arm of the Llangollen canal reinstated, linking Cefn Mawr to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct world heritage site.

But this would mean cleaning up the former chemical works, which is alongside the old canal.

At present a section of the chemical works is still functional, but the lease on that section is due to expire in 2015. The majority of the site is disused.

The site is owned and maintained by Solutia, who were taken over by Eastman Chemical last month.

A spokesman for Eastman said: “The Ruabon manufacturing site (located in Cefn Mawr) is still an ongoing operation providing quality jobs for local people. We plan to continue operating the site as a chemical plant for the foreseeable future.”

Mr Metcalfe said talks with Solutia/Eastman over their plans for the future of the site were ongoing.

The PKC group has discussed building a tourist information centre in the nearby Wimborne Gate car park, and eventually running cable cars from it to The Crane in Cefn Mawr, all to boost tourism and to raise funds for the canal marina project.

However, planning permission for the tourist information centre has not yet been granted, with a version operating at Lure It Fishing Tackle in Cefn Mawr.

The PKC group will be launching its voting campaign at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct fun day being held tomorrow from noon-5pm and will be available to talk about the options.

More information and voting forms will also be available online at www.plaskynastoncanalgroup.org/news/