Gold mining

Gold mining consists of the processes and techniques employed in the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques by which gold may be extracted from earth and rock:

Hard rock mining

Hard rock mining is most consistent with the popular conception of removing rock from the ground, in which miners tunnel and blast into rock, seeking hydrothermal deposits or sedimentary deposits of gold. Veins of gold ore are often found several inches or feet wide in certain rock formations in a hydrothermal deposit and in certain bedding planes or rock strata in a sedimentary deposit, hence the minerals may be removed, collected, and treated to process the gold and other valuable metals (such as silver) from them. This technique is possibly the most energy-intensive, but the most profitable way to harvest significant quantities of the metal.

Related Topics:
Hard rock mining - Rock - Hydrothermal deposit - Bedding plane - Silver

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