Gold Mining Facts: Lesson for Kids

Have you ever held or worn gold jewelry? A gold watch, necklace, or bracelet can be quite expensive. This is because gold is a difficult mineral to find in nature. In this lesson, we will explore the different ways gold is mined.

What is Gold Mining?

Have you ever wondered where the gold from a pretty pair of earrings comes from? It’s mined! Gold mining is the process of extracting gold from its natural form. Let’s explore the process of gold mining and its history.

Where is Gold Found?

What would you do if a friend told you lots of gold was found in a river near your local park? Would you run to the park? Would you tell other friends or keep it a secret? In the past, this kind of information would cause a gold rush, where large groups of people rush to a place where gold has been discovered in nature. Maybe you’ve heard of the California Gold Rush in 1849!

Gold can be found in many parts of the world. Right now the largest amount of gold is on the ocean floor, but it’s too difficult and costly to mine. When gold is found, it is either a vein of gold inside a rock, kind of like the veins you can see on the inside of your arm, or in small nuggets and flakes.

A Quartz Stone with a Gold Vein
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Small nuggets or flakes of gold are usually found in rivers. This happens when a rock with a gold vein has been worn away into gravel by the constant pressure of a glacier or river. It is amazing to think that a river could crush a rock over time, but think of the Grand Canyon. This huge canyon is over a mile deep and was created by a river!

A Large Gold Nugget, a Bottle of Small Gold Nuggets, and a Bottle of Gold Flakes
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1. Main points:

Gold mining involves extracting gold from the earth, often triggering gold rushes like the famous one in California in 1849. Gold is found in various forms, including veins in rocks and as small nuggets or flakes in rivers. The largest gold reserves are currently in the ocean, but they are difficult and expensive to mine.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What is gold mining and how has it historically caused gold rushes?
• Thematic Analysis: Where is gold typically found, and in what forms does it occur?
• Socio-cultural Analysis: Why do gold discoveries often lead to significant historical events like the California Gold Rush?

3. Further Discussion:

• How might modern technology change the way we mine and use gold?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: "Gold mining is the process of extracting gold from its natural form… In the past, this kind of information would cause a gold rush."
• Thematic Analysis: "Gold can be found in many parts of the world… Either a vein of gold inside a rock, or in small nuggets and flakes."
• Socio-cultural Analysis: Gold discoveries lead to significant events like gold rushes due to its high value and the human desire for wealth, which can drive large groups of people to drastically change their lives in pursuit of gold.

How is Gold Removed from the Earth?

There are two main types of gold mining: placer mining and hard rock mining.

Placer Mining

Placer mining is the act of removing gold nuggets, flakes, and dust from rivers. This type of mining was the method used in historical gold rushes. Placer mining can be done in a few different ways.

1. Panning for gold is done by holding a special pan and swirling gravel and water together from a river. Gold is heavy and will sink to the bottom, while the water and dirt swish out of the pan.

2. Cradles, or special gold catching boxes with mesh nets, are placed in rivers. They rock back and forth, like a cradle, to remove gold from river gravel.

3. Hydraulic mining uses strong hoses to spray water at hillsides and wash rocks and dirt into nearby rivers to extract gold that may have been in the hills.

4. Dredging is the process of dragging huge buckets on the bottom of a river. The buckets gather riverbed gravel and bring it to the surface to be sifted for gold.

This Painting by Edwin Stockqueler Shows a Group of Placer Miners
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Hard Rock Mining

Hard rock mining is the process of gathering rocks with gold veins and using large tools to remove the gold. This type of mining is most commonly used today. Once an area of rocks having large amounts of gold veins are found, the rocks are removed by miners with pick axes and explosives. Sometimes, these gold vein rocks are found miles underground. Tunnels, or mine shafts, are built underground for the workers to gather and transport the rocks to the surface.

Once the rocks with gold veins have been removed, the rocks are crushed into dust. Chemicals are then used to remove gold from the dust.

1. Main points:

Gold mining is primarily done through two methods: placer mining and hard rock mining. Placer mining involves extracting gold from riverbeds using methods like panning, cradles, hydraulic mining, and dredging. Hard rock mining involves extracting gold from gold vein rocks, often found deep underground, using tools and explosives, followed by crushing the rocks and using chemicals to extract the gold.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What are the methods used in placer mining and hard rock mining for gold extraction?
• Thematic Analysis: How have gold mining techniques evolved over time?
• Socio-cultural Analysis: What impact has gold mining had on the environment and communities?

3. Further Discussion:

• What are the potential future advancements in gold mining technology?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: "Placer mining… includes panning for gold, using cradles, hydraulic mining, and dredging… Hard rock mining… involves using pick axes and explosives to remove gold vein rocks."
• Thematic Analysis: Gold mining techniques have evolved from simple methods like panning in rivers to more complex processes involving heavy machinery and chemicals for extraction.
• Socio-cultural Analysis: Gold mining has significantly impacted the environment through methods like hydraulic mining and dredging, which can alter landscapes and riverbeds, and has also affected communities through the economic and social changes brought by gold rushes and mining operations.

Lesson Summary

Gold mining is the process of removing gold from nature. Placer mining and hard rock mining are two forms of gold mining. Placer mining uses tools to collect gold nuggets and flakes from water. Placer mining was the common form of gold mining during historical gold rushes. Hard rock mining is when explosives and minors remove rocks with gold veins from the earth through tunnels. These rocks are then crushed and chemicals are used to remove the gold.