Gold mining facts for kids

Super Pit gold mine at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, 2005

Gold-bearing quartz veins in Alaska

Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, has led to more complex extraction processes such as pit mining and gold cyanidation. In the 20th and 21st centuries, most volume of mining was done by large corporations, however the value of gold has led to millions of small, artisanal miners in many parts of the Global South.

Like all mining, human rights and environmental issues are common issues in the gold mining industry. In smaller mines with less regulation, health and safety risks are much higher.

History

A miner underground at Pumsaint gold mine Wales; c. 1938.

Landscape of Las Médulas, Spain, the result of hydraulic mining on a vast scale by the Ancient Romans

The exact date that humans first began to mine gold is unknown, but some of the oldest known gold artifacts were found in the Varna Necropolis in Bulgaria. The graves of the necropolis were built between 4700 and 4200 BC, indicating that gold mining could be at least 7000 years old. A group of German and Georgian archaeologists claims the Sakdrisi site in southern Georgia, dating to the 3rd or 4th millennium BC, may be the world's oldest known gold mine.

Bronze Age gold objects are plentiful, especially in Ireland and Spain, and there are several well known possible sources. Romans used hydraulic mining methods, such as hushing and ground sluicing on a large scale to extract gold from extensive alluvial (loose sediment) deposits, such as those at Las Medulas. Mining was under the control of the state but the mines may have been leased to civilian contractors some time later. The gold served as the primary medium of exchange within the empire, and was an important motive in the Roman invasion of Britain by Claudius in the first century AD, although there is only one known Roman gold mine at Dolaucothi in west Wales. Gold was a prime motivation for the campaign in Dacia when the Romans invaded Transylvania in what is now modern Romania in the second century AD. The legions were led by the emperor Trajan, and their exploits are shown on Trajan's Column in Rome and the several reproductions of the column elsewhere (such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London). Under the Eastern Roman Empire Emperor Justinian's rule, gold was mined in the Balkans, Anatolia, Armenia, Egypt, and Nubia.

In the area of the Kolar Gold Fields in Bangarpet Taluk, Kolar District of Karnataka state, India, gold was first mined prior to the 2nd and 3rd century AD by digging small pits. (Golden objects found in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro have been traced to Kolar through the analysis of impurities — the impurities include 11% silver concentration, found only in KGF ore.) The Champion reef at the Kolar gold fields was mined to a depth of 50 metres (160 ft) during the Gupta period in the fifth century AD. During the Chola period in the 9th and 10th century AD, the scale of the operation grew. The metal continued to be mined by the eleventh century kings of South India, the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1560, and later by Tipu Sultan, the king of Mysore state and the British. It is estimated that the total gold production in Karnataka to date is 1000 tons.

The mining of the Hungarian deposit (present-day Slovakia) primarily around Kremnica was the largest of the Medieval period in Europe.

During the 19th century, numerous gold rushes in remote regions around the globe caused large migrations of miners, such as the California Gold Rush of 1849, the Victorian Gold Rush, and the Klondike Gold Rush. The discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand led to the Second Boer War and ultimately the founding of South Africa.

The Carlin Trend of Nevada, U.S., was discovered in 1961. Official estimates indicate that total world gold production since the beginning of civilization has been around 6,352,216,000 troy ounces (197,576.0 t) and total gold production in Nevada is 1.1% of that, ranking Nevada as one of the Earth's primary gold producing regions.

As of 2020, the world's largest gold producer was China with 368.3 tonnes of gold mined in that year. The second-largest producer of gold was Russia where 331.1 tonnes was mined in the same year, followed by Australia with 327.8 tonnes.

Statistics

Despite the decreasing gold content of ores, the production is increasing. This can be achieved with industrial installations, and new process, like hydrometallurgy.

Adverse effects and responses

Gold mining can significantly alter the natural environment. For example, gold mining activities in tropical forests are increasingly causing deforestation along rivers and in remote areas rich in biodiversity. Other gold mining impacts, particularly in aquatic systems with residual cyanide or mercury (used in the recovery of gold from ore), can be highly toxic to people and wildlife even at relatively low concentrations.

However, there are clear moves by many in the non-governmental organization community to encourage more environmentally friendly and sustainable business practices in the mining industry. The primary way this is being achieved is via the promotion of so-called 'clean' or 'ethical' gold. The aim is to get all end users/retailers of gold to adhere to set of principles that encourage sustainable mining. Campaigns such as 'No Dirty Gold' are driving the message that the mining industry is harmful (for the reasons noted above), and so must be cleaned up. Also, NGOs are urging the industry and consumers to buy sustainably produced gold.

Human Rights Watch produced a report in 2015 that outlined some of challenges faced globally. The report notes that

Thousands of children in the Philippines risk their lives every day mining gold. Children work in unstable 25-meter-deep pits that could collapse at any moment. They mine gold underwater, along the shore, or in rivers, with oxygen tubes in their mouths. They also process gold with mercury, a toxic metal, risking irreversible health damage from mercury poisoning.

Along with many other reports and articles, this has had the effect of spurring retailers and industry bodies to move toward sustainable gold. Indeed, the World Jewellery Confederation insists that it does all it can to "Deliver a Sustainable and Responsible Jewellery Industry".

Fairtrade and Fairmined dual certification for gold was launched across the United Kingdom on 14 February 2011, a joint scheme between The Fairtrade Foundation and The Association for Responsible Mining. The Fairmined mark ensures that the gold has been extracted in a fair and responsible manner.

The Fairtrade Standard for Gold and Associated Precious Metals for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining was adopted in 2013, and the Fairtrade Foundation reports on a number of technical uses and responsible suppliers of Fairtrade Certified Gold. The Fairtrade Foundation launched a free course aimed at sales staff responsible for selling gold jewellery in 2017.

Safety

Noise

Within the United States, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has set noise exposure limits for those within the mining industry. These noise exposure guidelines state that the "Permissible Exposure Level" (PEL) of noise is 90 dBA as an 8-hour time-weighted-average. Mine workers exposed to a time-weighted average of at least 85 dBA fall into the "Action Level" in which workers with exposures exceeding that level are placed into a hearing conservation program. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has examined noise exposures of gold mine workers. One study found that gold mine workers noise exposures ranged from 165 to 261% of the MSHA PEL. Haul truck operators, load-haul-dump operators, single boom drill operators, and roof bolter operators represented the occupations with the highest noise exposures within gold mines.

See also

In Spanish: Minería del oro para niños Gold rushes: