Gold mining

Gold mining involves the extraction of gold either via conventional mining or via placer mining, as it is a soft metal, gold is relatively easy to separate from its surrounding. Global gold production is estimated at approximately 4,000–5,000 metric tons per year, with the majority coming from newly mined sources. Historically, gold mining from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are below the surface has led to more complex extraction processes such as large scale pit mining and chemical extraction processes such as gold cyanidation.

The history of gold mining dates to at least 4700 BC, with gold being an important metal mined in pre-history and early civilizations around the world. In empires like Rome and Egypt, gold mining would be a source of wealth and power for governments. Gold rushes have been driving forces of migration and industrialization in many parts of the world, starting in the middle ages in parts of Europe, and played an important role in waves of colonization in the Americas. 19th Century Gold rushes to California, the Klondike, South Africa and Australia all led to large migrations of speculators.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, large corporations produce the vast majority of the gold mined. As a result of the increasing value of gold, there are also millions of small, artisanal miners in many parts of the Global South. As with all mining, human rights and environmental issues are important issues in the gold mining industry, and can result in environmental conflict. In mines with less regulation such as smaller artisinal mines, health and safety risks are much higher, disproportionally affecting people operating in poorer geographies.