Gold has a unique status among commodities as a source of exchange and investment. Gold is important for industrial applications and is favoured for investment by financial institutions, individuals as well as governments with many countries including gold holdings as an integral part of their monetary reserves. Gold has more than tripled in price during the past 4 years, encouraging producers to increase exploration for gold, develop new gold deposits as well as acquire others to bolster output. Gold has surged 39 percent in the past year and recently reached above US$1000 per troy ounce.

Gold is a good conductor of electricity, heat and is extremely malleable; it can be rolled thin enough to enable passage of light. Because of its excellent electrical conductivity, resistance to corrosion, as well as other desirable physical and chemical properties, gold emerged in the 20th century as an important industrial metal. High electrical conductivity, malleability and ductility favours use of gold in electronic and computer circuitry, communications equipment, satellites, and a multitude of other products.

Gold Exploration & Mining: United States Of America

Gold exploration and mining in the United States of America has been ongoing since 1799 with the discovery of gold in North Carolina. In 2006 the USA produced 8.360 million troy ounces (260 tonnes) of gold, making it the top three largest gold producing nation. United States of America was a net importer of gold in 2004 and 2005, but a net exporter in 2006.

Nevada is a top gold mining and exploration state, producing 85% of all gold mined in the USA. The state of Nevada mines have produced large quantities of gold and silver as well as copper, lead, zinc, mercury, barite, and tungsten, with gold mining exceeding all other minerals in value of production.

Gold Mining & Exploration: Gold Mines Nevada, USA

The world's lowest cost and most profitable gold mines are located in Nevada. The state has globally the highest success rate of new gold discoveries. Discovery rates have averaged 7 million ounces every year for the past 30 years. Major new discoveries continue, often as a result of re-evaluation of Nevada's complex geology, including areas previously explored by various gold mining companies.

Major gold mining and exploration companies operate in Nevada where bulk of goldmining and exploration involves large open pit heap leach mines. Since 1993, when Carlin Trend's first underground mine went into production, Nevada underground mining of gold has been growing in importance. As gold exploration probed deeper, richer gold deposits have been discovered. Development of these higher grade gold deposits as underground mines, and the probability of discovering more high grade gold deposits below Nevada's little explored vast expanse, has added great excitement to the state's gold prospecting and mining potential.

Nevada gold mines, during 2005, produced 85% of the USA total output, that is, 6.852 million ounces of gold. Analysts estimate that up to 180 million ounces of gold are still undiscovered. Cortez Hills is expected to produce nearly 1 million ounces of gold a year costing in the region of US$290 an ounce. More than 50% of Nevada's annual gold production comes from the Carlin Trend where more than 40 separate deposits have been delineated.

Gold Mining & Prospecting

Gold mining and prospecting involves processes and methods for extracting the metal from earth and rock. Gold usually occurs in its metallic state, commonly associated with sulphide minerals such as pyrite, but it does not form a separate sulphide mineral itself. Gold is also produced by mining in which it is not the principal product - gold can be recovered with other metals. Sand and gravel pits may recover small amounts of gold in their washing operations.

Gold Mining: Panning

Gold mining involving panning is a simple, manual technique for gold mining, but is not commercially viable for extracting gold from large deposits. Panning is a good way to identify placer gold deposits in streams or dry streams so that they may be evaluated for commercial viability. Shallow pan is filled with sand and gravel containing gold, water is then added and the pan shaken sorting the gold from the gravel and other material. Gold being much denser than rock, quickly settles to the bottom of the pan and recovered easily.

Mining For Gold: Metal Detectors

Mining for gold can involve metal detectors. Employing a portable metal detector, a specific gold prospecting area can be surveyed. If the metal detector meter shows a positive reading in the prospecting area a quantity of gold may be present below the surface. This technique is easy to operate, very mobile, and popular among gold prospecting enthusiasts.

Gold Mining: Dredging

Gold mining by dredging is done by small scale gold miners employing suction dredges which are small machines floating on water. Modern suction dredges are much more efficient at extracting smaller gold than the bucket line dredges. Large suction dredges are used in commercial gold mining, whilst smaller ones are used to sample gold mining areas behind rocks and along potential streaks, until the gold colour appears.

Mining Gold: Sluicing

Mining gold using sluice box involves extraction of gold from placer gold deposits. A sluice box is a channel with riffles set in the bottom; these are designed to create dead zones to allow gold to drop out of suspension. The wooden box is placed in the stream to catch water-flow and gold bearing material is placed at the top of the box. The material is carried by water through the box where gold and other heavy material settles out behind the riffles.

Mining For Gold: Hydraulic Goldmining

Mining for gold involving hydraulic goldmining is a type of placer mining used where loose gravel and sand or soil are poorly packed and may be washed away with a heavy stream of water. Water cannons are used to strip away entire hills of loose gravel, which are then run through a sluice.

Goldmining: Hard Rock Gold Mining

Hard rock goldmining produces most of the world's gold. This type of gold mining is done when gold is encased in rock, rather than in loose sediments, and the gold mines use underground mining where the ore is extracted through tunnels or shafts. Hard rock gold mining sometimes involves open-pit mining. Barrick Gold Corporation, located in north east Nevada, has one of the largest open-pit gold mines in North America.