types of gold mining
Depending on the gold deposits, different methods of gold extraction are used. A distinction is made between primary and secondary deposits: in primary deposits, the gold is still connected to rock mass, while in secondary deposits it has already detached from the rock and been washed into rivers.
Gold extraction from primary deposits is now carried out using machines and mercury or cyanide. In the past, gold extraction was mainly limited to secondary deposits - also known as gold panning. However, this process, which involves sifting through sand on the bottom of rivers, is very time-consuming and the yield is rather low.
history of gold mining
It is now assumed that gold mining began in Egypt as early as the 4th millennium BC using a gold washing plant. A technical papyrus drawing from around 1,000 BC leads one to believe that processes for refining gold already existed at that time.
This knowledge appears to have been lost in Roman antiquity – studies of gold objects from this period suggest that gold processing was not very sophisticated in this culture.
The Bronze Age (2,200 BC - 800 BC) is considered the Golden Age because a particularly large number of gold objects from this period are still well preserved today.
In the Arabic-speaking world, gold mining peaked between the 8th and 13th centuries AD. During the Renaissance, gold mining reached its peak in South America, especially in Chile and Brazil.
From 1848 to 1854 there were gold-rich times, especially in California, and from 1851 in Australia, also known as the gold rush.
Madrid solitaire ring in 18-carat yellow gold
Gold mining in numbers
The oldest gold mine known today is a Georgian mine that was built around 3,000 BC. Large-scale gold mining began in Chile in the 16th century, where up to 1,500 kg were mined annually. In the following years, this amount dropped considerably, but doubled in the 18th century. In 1934, gold mining there rose again to over 10,000 kg per year. In the 20th century, South Africa led the way in terms of the amount of gold mined. In the 1970s, more than 1,000 tons of gold were mined annually. In 2007, South Africa lost its leading position to China, where gold mining amounted to 276 tons in one year. European gold mining is comparatively insignificant because the quantities mined are very small. The largest scale of gold mining in Europe takes place in the Romanian Ore Mountains. On German soil, isolated gold deposits can be found in the Rhine, in the low mountain ranges and in rivers in the Alpine region in Bavaria
gold jewelry
At RENÉSIM you will find all of our jewelry in 18-carat gold. We offer individual creations in yellow gold , white gold and rose gold with a fine gold content of 75%.
