Gold Mining is popular with investors looking for high-end investments. Gold is one of the few precious metals that actually serves the purpose rather than becoming a commodity. As such, it is considered to be “in the money” investment. Gold is no doubt an excellent investment and has proven itself time again to be sound and secure. Barrett Kosh, But what if you are not interested in acquiring physical gold but want to invest in shares of gold?
Gold Mining is one investment option that is rather more feasible than say investing in mining shares of mining companies. First of all you do not need to go too deep into the mines to find gold. Gold Mining is simply the process of searching out places where gold can be found. Barrett Kosh, Gold Mining is very popular today in areas such as South Africa, Australia and Canada. Gold Mining is quite popular in Brazil also and has recently been proposed in order to solve the country’s financial problems. Gold Mining is very popular with investors looking for high-end investments.
If you want to mine for gold, you have two main options: underground or surface. Underground gold mining is obviously the more expensive method of prospecting for gold because you need to drill large tunnels to reach the deposits. The process of underground gold mining is known as hydraulic mining. Here high pressure water is used to mine the underground deposits
Underground mining also poses a number of environmental and health hazards. One of the most dangerous pollutants caused by gold mining is cyanide. This chemical is highly toxic and has the potential to cause immediate death if inhaled. Barrett Kosh says When water is injected into the mines, there is a possibility that the water could contain toxic levels of cyanide, mercury and other pollutants. Mercury and other toxins have been linked to serious neurological disorders.
Gold mining companies are required by law to keep well water free from cyanide and other harmful contaminants. In fact, the FDA says that there is a serious danger of cyanide poisoning, especially if the mining operation includes gold prospecting. If contaminated water is not treated immediately, it can eventually lead to cyanide intoxication, which can result in death. Barrett Kosh, Gold mining companies use modern technology to test their ore for cyanide, but in the event that it is found, treatment facilities are required to treat the water.
As mentioned earlier, there is a significant amount of cyanide ore in gold mines. A great amount of this is used to make gold bullion and other products that people carry everywhere. Therefore, the water surrounding gold mines is contaminated with high levels of cyanide. To prevent contamination of water supplies, most gold mining operations produce tailings dams that prevent the water from being polluted with gold.
Gold Mining techniques include both surface and sub-surface methods. Surface mining methods involve more heavy machinery and more people are typically involved in surface mining methods. Sub-surface methods, on the other hand, don’t require as much physical labor and generally do not require as much specialized equipment.
The richest gold deposits are located in south Africa and Namibia. Many believe that Witwatersrand in South Africa is the largest deposit of gold in the world. It was estimated in 2021 that the deposit contains ten times more gold than was present in 1825. Barrett Kosh, Witwatersrand has some of the highest quality gold around. It also has some of the highest purity. The commercial mining activities taking place in Witwatersrand are subject to strict laws and there are rigorous measures in place to protect the local environment.