In the 19th century, there were exciting gold rushes occurring throughout the Western US. As the song says: “Go west young man! Haven’t you been told? California’s full of whiskey, women and gold!” But Indiana? Not so much. Few found Indiana to be a favorable place for gold prospecting, and most ventured onward in search […]
It would be a surprise to many, but the fact remains that the people of Vietnam are quite passionate about gold. Vietnam is more obsessed than others on the Asian continent, ranking as the #9 top gold consuming country in the world. In fact, on a per-capita basis, the Vietnamese consume more gold than even […]
Greece is high in the list of countries with good potential for producing large quantities of gold, but currently contributing only an insignificant amount, no more than a few thousand kilograms. Experts are quite clear; the small country contains large reserves of gold, most of which are still untapped. It’s hardly a secret that gold […]
The island country of Sri Lanka is rich in natural beauty, culture, spices, and gold. The country might not have much to offer to large mining operators, but it has always interested small-scale artisanal miners who flock the island to try their luck. For the past decade, gold has had a bullish run in the […]
The town of Fairplay owes its very existence to mining. It was the gold deposits found in the South Platte River that brought men here to seek their fortune sifting amongst the gravels. The placers around Fairplay weren’t nearly as rich as some surrounding areas, but this was still the main supply town for most […]
Take a 45 minute drive southwest of Colorado Springs and you will get to the Cripple Creek area. This was the single largest gold strike in the entire state of Colorado producing nearly 20 million ounces of gold from discover through the mid-1900s. There is still plenty of gold here to be found. The earliest […]
Bolivia is now far from the main stage of the global economy, but the case was quite different centuries ago. In the 1500s, this land-locked country played a vital role in establishing the Spanish Empire. For a long period, Bolivia also dominated the global economy through the mining of precious metals. Bolivia is rich in […]
Oregon has thousands of square miles of public land that a person can prospect for a variety of valuable minerals. In Southwestern Oregon there are many gold-bearing rivers where a person can do some panning. The problem for the casual prospector is that many areas are claimed up. This means that you aren’t allowed to […]
Since ancient times, gold mining in Italy has been a part of the country’s history. Large parts of the country have favorable geology that results in many gold deposits scattered throughout the creeks and rivers. Though Italian mining has historically revolved around marble, iron, pumice and feldspar, there are a few precious patches of gold […]
The town of Mariposa is located on a plot of land with a long, rich history. Known for its Mother Lode, the legendary gold vein that sparked a mining boom, Mariposa would outlast other mining settlements and make its mark on American history. Prior to the mining town’s birth, the Southern Miwok Indians had lived […]