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History Of Gold Mines

Gold has been used since time immemorial. The ancient and the bye gone eras hold proof to the statement. Gold was found in generous quantities in those times, encouraging people to invent innovative and new ways to use gold. Gold was previously used to make utensils, as decorative articles, and also buried along with the dead as in the case of Egyptian mummies.

Gold mining has an illustrious history and an ancient past. History has seen numerous gold rushes. Gold rushes are the sudden and heavy influx or migration of people to a region where gold has suddenly been discovered or mining has been initiated.

Gold rushes have also contributed greatly to the political, economic and cultural development of the involved countries.

The period from 1600 to 2000 has witnessed numerous gold rushes. Brazil, Australia, North America, UK, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Alaska and Mongolia all have seen major gold rushes.

South Africa is the world's largest producer of gold. The history of gold in South Africa dates back to 1867, with a diamond being found by chance on the banks of the Orange River. Generations have passed and yet this region has continued the gold mining process, with millions of tonnes of gold already extracted from it.

Ancient Mining Methods:

Fire Setting:

Gold was traditionally extracted from the mines using a procedure called as Fire setting. In this method the rocks where gold was supposed to be found were subjected to intense heat. The fire was set up in close proximity to the rocks to turn their temperatures soaring toward the sky. On this hot and almost molten rock, loads of water was dropped at a great force. This sudden variation in the temperature would cause the rock to crack open and reveal any hidden gold underneath.

Hushing:

Hushing is also another process which was used in ancient mining. Huge amounts of water are dropped down on to the rocks where the gold is presumed to be hidden and the resulting stream or rivulet formed is checked for the gold which gets loosened up.

Hushing is usually used in combination with Fire setting and also with Undermining.

Undermining:

This method was used by the Romans for mining gold. The bottom of the hill is dug up and a tunnel or cave like opening is made out in the base of the hill. This tunnel is supported by wooden shafts and finally burnt in order to break the hill and get the gold out of it.

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