In the l960s, the arrival of companies such as Magcobar (Ireland) Ltd and Mogul of Ireland Ltd to the village of Silvermines brought international workers and an economic boom that saw full employment and a thriving social scene that is still talked about in the village today.
Both Magcobar and Mogul were spawned by the Silvermines Lead and Zinc Company which, in l948, discovered one of the world's largest deposits of barite - used in the medical compound barium - at the foot of the Silvermine Mountains. Lacking resources to exploit their find, the company merged with the Magnet Core Barium Corporation, becoming Magcobar (Ireland), and sold shares to two Canadian mining companies, giving birth to Mogul of Ireland Ltd. The Mogul mine opened in the Silvermines in l968 and produced l.75 million tonnes of lead and zinc concentrates from l2 million tonnes of ore until its closure in l982.
In the mid-1980s, the mines dried up and the companies moved out. Magcobar ceased trading and Mogul of Ireland was bought by the Irish resource company Ennex International.