Editing Mining (section)

==History==
===Prehistory===

Since the beginning of civilization, people have used [[Rock (geology)|stone]], [[clay]] and, later, [[metal]]s found close to the Earth's surface. These were used to make early tools and weapons; for example, high quality [[flint]] found in northern [[France]], southern [[England]] and [[Poland]] was used to create [[Flint (tool)|flint tools]].<ref>Hartman, Howard L. ''SME Mining Engineering Handbook'', Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration Inc, 1992, p. 3.</ref> [[Flint]] mines have been found in [[chalk]] areas where seams of the stone were followed underground by [[Shaft sinking|shafts]] and galleries. The mines at [[Grimes Graves]] and [[Krzemionki]] are especially famous, and like most other flint mines, are [[Neolithic]] in origin (c. 4000–3000 BC). Other hard rocks mined or collected for axes included the [[Greenschist|greenstone]] of the [[Langdale axe industry]] based in the [[English Lake District]].<ref name="KloproggePonceLoomis2020">{{cite book | author1 = J. Theo Kloprogge | author2 = Concepcion P. Ponce | author3 = Tom Loomis | date = 18 November 2020 | title = The Periodic Table: Nature's Building Blocks: An Introduction to the Naturally Occurring Elements, Their Origins and Their Uses | publisher = Elsevier | page =54 | isbn = 978-0-12-821538-8 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hGa8DwAAQBAJ}}</ref>
The oldest-known mine on archaeological record is the [[Ngwenya Mine]] in [[Eswatini (Swaziland)]], which [[radiocarbon dating]] shows to be about 43,000 years old. At this site [[Paleolithic]] humans mined [[hematite]] to make the red [[pigment]] [[ochre]].<ref>Swaziland Natural Trust Commission, "Cultural Resources – Malolotja Archaeology, Lion Cavern," Retrieved August 27, 2007, {{cite web|url=http://www.sntc.org.sz/cultural/malarch.asp |title=Swaziland National Trust Commission – Cultural Resources – Malolotja Archaeology, Lion Cavern |access-date=2016-02-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221001/http://www.sntc.org.sz/cultural/malarch.asp |archive-date=2016-03-03 }}</ref><ref>Peace Parks Foundation, "Major Features: Cultural Importance." Republic of South Africa: Author. Retrieved August 27, 2007, [http://www.peaceparks.org/story.php?mid=168&pid=148] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207102130/http://www.peaceparks.org/story.php?mid=168&pid=148|date=2008-12-07}}</ref> Mines of a similar age in [[Hungary]] are believed to be sites where [[Neanderthal]]s may have mined flint for weapons and tools.<ref>{{cite web|title = ASA – October 1996: Mining and Religion in Ancient Man|url = http://www2.asa3.org/archive/asa/199610/0067.html|website = www2.asa3.org|access-date = 2015-06-11|archive-date = 2018-10-02|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181002182555/http://www2.asa3.org/archive/asa/199610/0067.html|url-status = dead}}</ref>

===Ancient Egypt===
[[File:Malachite, Zaire.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Malachite]]
[[Ancient Egypt]]ians mined [[malachite]] at [[Maadi]].<ref>Shaw, I. (2000). ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt''. New York: Oxford University Press, pp.&nbsp;57–59.</ref> At first, [[Egyptians]] used the bright green malachite stones for ornamentations and [[pottery]]. Later, between 2613 and 2494 BC, large building projects required expeditions abroad to the area of [[Wadi Maghareh]] in order to secure minerals and other resources not available in Egypt itself.<ref name="Shaw">Shaw, I. (2000). ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt''. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 108.</ref> Quarries for [[turquoise]] and [[copper]] were also found at [[Wadi Hammamat]], [[Tura, Egypt|Tura]], [[Aswan]] and various other [[Nubia]]n sites on the [[Sinai Peninsula]] and at [[Timna Valley|Timna]].<ref name="Shaw"/> Quarries for [[gypsum]] were found at the Umm el-Sawwan site; gypsum was used to make funerary items for private tombs. Other minerals mined in Egypt from the Old Kingdom (2649-2134 BC) until the Roman Period (30 BC-AD 395) including [[granite]], [[sandstone]], [[limestone]], [[basalt]], [[travertine]], [[gneiss]], [[galena]], and [[amethyst]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shaw |first=Ian |date=March 1994 |title=Pharaonic quarrying and mining: settlement and procurement in Egypt's marginal regions |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/abs/pharaonic-quarrying-and-mining-settlement-and-procurement-in-egypts-marginal-regions/B141EC0C2080C7FFEE5D6D8E995EDC08 |journal=Antiquity |language=en |volume=68 |issue=258 |pages=108–119 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X0004624X |s2cid=127791320 |issn=0003-598X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Mining in Egypt]] occurred in the earliest dynasties. The [[Nubia#Kerma|gold mines of Nubia]] were among the largest and most extensive of any in Ancient Egypt. These mines are described by the [[Greeks|Greek]] author [[Diodorus Siculus]], who mentions [[fire-setting]] as one method used to break down the hard rock holding the [[gold]]. One of the complexes is shown in one of the earliest known mining maps.<ref>{{cite journal| url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-019-01811-w| doi=10.1007/s00531-019-01811-w| title=Al Fawakhir Gold mine as a Geosite, Eastern Desert, Egypt| year=2020| last1=Abdelmaksoud| first1=Kholoud M.| journal=International Journal of Earth Sciences| volume=109| issue=1| pages=197–199| bibcode=2020IJEaS.109..197A| s2cid=210715910| url-access=subscription}}</ref> The miners crushed the ore and ground it to a fine powder before washing the powder for the gold dust known as the dry and wet attachment processes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Neesse |first=Thomas |date=April 2014 |title=Selective attachment processes in ancient gold ore beneficiation |journal=Minerals Engineering |language=en |volume=58 |pages=52–63 |doi=10.1016/j.mineng.2014.01.009|bibcode=2014MiEng..58...52N |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Ancient Greece and Rome===
{{Further|Mining in Roman Britain}}
[[File:Dolaucothimap4.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Ancient Roman development of the [[Dolaucothi Gold Mines]], Wales]]
Mining in Europe has a very long history. Examples include the silver mines of [[Laurium]], which helped support the Greek [[City-state|city state]] of [[Athens]]. Although they had over 20,000 [[slaves]] working them, their technology was essentially identical to their [[Bronze Age]] predecessors.<ref>{{cite web|title = Mining greece ancient mines|url = http://www.miningreece.com/mining-greece/mining-history/ancient-mines/|website = www.miningreece.com|access-date = 2015-06-11|date = 2014-12-10|archive-date = 2015-06-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150612161354/http://www.miningreece.com/mining-greece/mining-history/ancient-mines/|url-status = live}}</ref> At other mines, such as on the island of [[Thasos|Thassos]], marble was quarried by the [[Paros|Parians]] after they arrived in the 7th century BC.<ref>{{cite web|title = Mining Greece Ancient Quarries in Thassos|url = http://www.miningreece.com/mining-greece/ancient-quarries-in-thassos/|website = www.miningreece.com|access-date = 2015-06-11|date = 2014-12-10|archive-date = 2015-06-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150612161350/http://www.miningreece.com/mining-greece/ancient-quarries-in-thassos/|url-status = live}}</ref> The marble was shipped away and was later found by [[archaeologists]] to have been used in buildings including the tomb of Amphipolis. [[Philip II of Macedon]], the father of [[Alexander the Great]], captured the gold mines of Mount Pangeo in 357 BC to fund his military campaigns.<ref>{{cite web|title = Mining Greece the Goldmines of Alexander the Great|url = http://www.miningreece.com/mining-greece/mining-history/the-goldmines-of-alexander-the-great/|website = www.miningreece.com|access-date = 2015-06-11|date = 2014-12-10}}</ref> He also captured gold mines in [[Eastern Macedonia and Thrace|Thrace]] for minting coinage, eventually producing 26 [[ton]]s per year.

However, it was the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] who developed large-scale mining methods, especially the use of large volumes of water brought to the minehead by numerous [[aqueduct (watercourse)|aqueducts]]. The water was used for a variety of purposes, including removing overburden and rock debris, called [[hydraulic mining]], as well as washing [[comminution|comminuted]], or crushed, ores and driving simple machinery.

The Romans used hydraulic mining methods on a large scale to prospect for the [[vein (geology)|veins]] of ore, especially using a now-obsolete form of mining known as [[hushing]]. They built numerous [[aqueduct (watercourse)|aqueducts]] to supply water to the minehead, where the water was stored in large [[reservoirs]] and tanks. When a full tank was opened, the flood of water [[sluice]]d away the [[overburden]] to expose the [[bedrock]] underneath and any gold-bearing veins. The rock was then worked by [[fire-setting]] to heat the rock, which would be quenched with a stream of water. The resulting [[thermal shock]] cracked the rock, enabling it to be removed by further streams of water from the overhead tanks. The Roman miners used similar methods to work [[cassiterite]] deposits in [[Cornwall]] and [[lead]] ore in the [[Pennines]].

Sluicing methods were developed by the Romans in [[Spain]] in 25 AD to exploit large [[alluvial]] gold deposits, the largest site being at [[Las Medulas]], where seven long aqueducts tapped local rivers and sluiced the deposits. The Romans also exploited the silver present in the [[Galena|argentiferous galena]] in the [[mines of Cartagena]] (''[[Cartago Nova]]''), [[Linares, Jaén|Linares]] (''Castulo''), [[Plasenzuela]] and [[Azuaga]], among many others.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Minerales y Minas de España. Vol. II. Sulfuros y sulfosales|last=Calvo|first=Miguel|publisher=Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava|year=2003|isbn=84-7821-543-3|location=Vitoria, Spain|pages=205–335}}</ref> [[Spain]] was one of the most important mining regions, but all regions of the [[Roman Empire]] were exploited. In [[Great Britain]] the natives had mined minerals for [[millennia]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2169254.ece |title=The Independent, 20 Jan. 2007: ''The end of a Celtic tradition: the last gold miner in Wales'' |publisher=News.independent.co.uk |date=2007-01-20 |access-date=2013-06-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706035317/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2169254.ece |archive-date=July 6, 2008 }}</ref> but after the [[Roman conquest of Britain|Roman conquest]], the scale of the operations increased dramatically, as the Romans needed [[Britannia]]'s resources, especially [[gold]], [[silver]], [[tin]], and [[lead]].

Roman techniques were not limited to surface mining. They followed the ore veins underground once opencast mining was no longer feasible. At [[Dolaucothi]] they [[stoping|stoped]] out the veins and drove [[adit]]s through bare rock to drain the stopes. The same adits were also used to ventilate the workings, especially important when [[fire-setting]] was used. At other parts of the site, they penetrated the [[water table]] and dewatered the mines using several kinds of machines, especially [[reverse overshot water-wheel]]s. These were used extensively in the [[copper]] mines at [[Rio Tinto (river)|Rio Tinto]] in Spain, where one sequence comprised 16 such wheels arranged in pairs, and lifting water about {{convert|24|m|ft}}. They were worked as treadmills with miners standing on the top slats. Many examples of such devices have been found in old Roman mines and some examples are now preserved in the [[British Museum]] and the [[National Museum of Wales]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://romans-in-britain.org.uk/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720073131/http://www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/raw_mining.htm|url-status=dead|title=Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting & Domain Names from Heart Internet|archive-date=July 20, 2010|website=romans-in-britain.org.uk}}</ref>

===Medieval Europe===
{{main|Mining and metallurgy in medieval Europe}}
[[File:Georgius Agricola.jpg|thumb|upright|Agricola, author of ''[[De Re Metallica]]'']]
[[File:Gallery medieval silver mine Germany southern Black Forest 12th century.jpg|thumb|upright|Gallery, 12th to 13th century, Germany]]
Mining as an industry underwent dramatic changes in [[Middle Ages|medieval Europe]]. The mining industry in the early [[Middle Ages]] was mainly focused on the extraction of [[copper]] and [[iron]]. Other [[precious metal]]s were also used, mainly for gilding or coinage. Initially, many metals were obtained through [[open-pit mining]], and [[ore]] was primarily extracted from shallow depths, rather than through deep mine shafts. Around the [[14th century]], the growing use of [[weapons]], [[armour]], [[stirrup]]s, and [[horseshoe]]s greatly increased the demand for iron. Medieval [[knights]], for example, were often laden with up to {{convert|100|lb}} of plate or [[Chain mail|chain link armour]] in addition to [[sword]]s, [[lances]] and other weapons.<ref>A culture of Improvement. Robert Friedel. MIT Press. 2007. p. 81</ref> The overwhelming dependency on iron for military purposes spurred iron production and extraction processes.

The silver crisis of 1465 occurred when all mines had reached depths at which the shafts could no longer be pumped dry with the available technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL115/115CH7.html |title=Chapter 7: Medieval Silver and Gold |publisher=Mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu |access-date=2013-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130714062613/http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL115/115ch7.html |archive-date=2013-07-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although an increased use of [[banknote]]s, credit and [[copper]] [[coins]] during this period did decrease the value of, and dependence on, [[precious metals]], [[gold]] and [[silver]] still remained vital to the story of medieval mining.

Due to differences in the social structure of society, the increasing extraction of mineral deposits spread from [[central Europe]] to England in the mid-sixteenth century. On the continent, mineral deposits belonged to the crown, and this regalian right was stoutly maintained. But in England, royal mining rights were restricted to [[gold]] and [[silver]] (of which England had virtually no deposits) by a judicial decision of 1568 and a law in 1688. [[England]] had [[iron]], [[zinc]], [[copper]], [[lead]], and [[tin]] ores. [[Landlords]] who owned the base metals and coal under their estates then had a strong inducement to extract these metals or to lease the deposits and collect royalties from mine operators. English, [[Germany|German]], and [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[Capital (economics)|capital]] combined to finance extraction and [[refining]]. Hundreds of German [[technicians]] and skilled workers were brought over; in 1642 a colony of 4,000 foreigners was mining and smelting copper at [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]] in the northwestern mountains.<ref>Heaton Herbert (1948) ''Economic History of Europe.'' A Harper International Edition. Fifth printing. February 1968. p. 316</ref>

Use of water power in the form of [[water mill]]s was extensive. The water mills were employed in crushing ore, raising ore from shafts, and ventilating galleries by powering giant [[bellows]]. [[gun powder|Black powder]] was first used in mining in [[Banská Štiavnica|Selmecbánya]], [[Kingdom of Hungary]] (now [[Banská Štiavnica]], Slovakia) in 1627.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1007/s00334-007-0096-8|title = Analysis of the fuel wood used in Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age copper mining sites of the Schwaz and Brixlegg area (Tyrol, Austria)| journal=Vegetation History and Archaeobotany| volume=17| issue=2| pages=211–21|year = 2008|last1 = Heiss|first1 = Andreas G.| last2=Oeggl| first2=Klaus| bibcode=2008VegHA..17..211H | citeseerx=10.1.1.156.1683|s2cid = 15636432}}</ref> Black powder allowed blasting of rock and earth to loosen and reveal ore veins. Blasting was much faster than [[fire-setting]] and allowed the mining of previously impenetrable metals and ores.<ref>The use of Firesetting in the Granite Quarries of South India Paul T. Craddock The Bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society, Vol. 13 Number 1. 1996</ref> In 1762, one of the world's first mining academies was established in the same town there.

The widespread adoption of agricultural innovations such as the iron [[plowshare]], as well as the growing use of metal as a building material, was also a driving force in the tremendous growth of the iron industry during this period. Inventions like the [[arrastra]] were often used by the Spanish to pulverize ore after being mined. This device was powered by animals and used the same principles used for grain [[threshing]].<ref>"The Spanish Tradition in Gold and Silver Mining." Otis E. Young ''[[Arizona and the West]]'', Vol. 7, No. 4 (Winter, 1965), pp. 299–314 (''Journal of the Southwest'') {{JSTOR|40167137}}.</ref>

Much of the knowledge of medieval mining techniques comes from books such as [[Biringuccio]]'s ''[[De la pirotechnia]]'' and probably most importantly from [[Georg Agricola]]'s ''[[De re metallica]]'' (1556). These books detail many different mining methods used in German and Saxon mines. A prime issue in medieval mines, which [[Georgius Agricola|Agricola]] explains in detail, was the removal of water from mining shafts. As miners dug deeper to access new veins, flooding became a very real obstacle. The mining industry became dramatically more efficient and prosperous with the invention of mechanically- and animal-driven pumps.

===Africa===
[[Iron metallurgy in Africa]] dates back over four thousand years. Gold became an important commodity for Africa during the [[trans-Saharan gold trade]] from the 7th century to the 14th century. Gold was often traded to Mediterranean economies that demanded gold and could supply [[salt]], even though much of Africa was abundant with salt due to the mines and resources in the [[Sahara desert]]. The trading of gold for salt was mostly used to promote trade between the different economies.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gold/hd_gold.htm |title=The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th–14th Century) |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum |date=October 2000 |access-date=7 July 2022 |archive-date=25 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625205507/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gold/hd_gold.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the [[Great Trek]] in the 19th century, after, gold and diamond mining in [[Mining industry of South Africa|Southern Africa]] has had major political and economic impacts. The [[Democratic Republic of Congo]] is the largest producer of diamonds in Africa, with an estimated 12 million carats in 2019. Other types of mining reserves in Africa include [[cobalt]], [[bauxite]], [[iron ore]], coal, and [[copper]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Published by M. Garside |url=https://www.statista.com/topics/7205/mining-industry-in-africa/#topicHeader__wrapper |title=Mining industry in Africa - statistics & facts |publisher=Statista |date=2021-10-20 |accessdate=2022-03-19}}</ref>

=== Oceania ===
Gold and coal mining started in Australia and New Zealand in the 19th century. [[Nickel mining in New Caledonia|Nickel]] has become important in the economy of [[New Caledonia]].{{Cn|date=March 2024}}

In [[Fiji]], in 1934, the Emperor Gold Mining Company Ltd. established operations at [[Vatukoula]], followed in 1935 by the Loloma Gold Mines, N.L., and then by Fiji Mines Development Ltd. (aka Dolphin Mines Ltd.). These developments ushered in a "mining boom", with gold production rising more than a hundred-fold, from 931.4 oz in 1934 to 107,788.5 oz in 1939, an order of magnitude then comparable to the combined output of New Zealand and Australia's eastern states.<ref>Fiji through the Prism of Geology and Mines Inspection. Chapter 5 in: White F. (2020). Miner with a Heart of Gold: biography of a mineral science and engineering educator. Friesen Press, Victoria. ISBN 978-1-5255-7765-9 (Hardcover) 978-1-5255-7766-6 (Paperback) 978-1-5255-7767-3 (eBook)</ref>

===Americas===
[[File:Lead mining Barber 1865p321cropped.jpg|thumb|[[Lead]] mining in the upper [[Mississippi River]] region of the U.S., 1865]]
During prehistoric times, early Americans mined large amounts of [[copper]] along [[Lake Superior]]'s [[Keweenaw Peninsula]] and in nearby [[Isle Royale]]; metallic copper was still present near the surface in colonial times.<ref name="Lankton91">Lankton, L. (1991). ''Cradle to Grave: Life, Work, and Death at the Lake Superior Copper Mines''. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 5–6.</ref><ref name="west70">West, G.A. (1970). ''Copper: its mining and use by the aborigines of the Lake Superior Region''. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.</ref><ref name="Ricard32">Ricard, T. A. (1932), ''A History of American Mining'', McGraw-Hill Book Company.</ref> Indigenous peoples used Lake Superior copper from at least 5,000 years ago;<ref name="Lankton91"/> copper tools, arrowheads, and other [[Cultural artifact|artifacts]] that were part of an extensive native trade-network have been discovered. In addition, [[obsidian]], [[flint]], and other minerals were mined, worked, and traded.<ref name="west70"/> Early French explorers who encountered the sites{{clarify|date= December 2013}}<!--Which sites? All, or only the copper mines? If all, then the following word "metals" needs to be changed to "minerals". If only the copper mines, then "the sites" should be changed to "the copper mines".--> made no use of the metals due to the difficulties of transporting them,<ref name="west70"/> but the copper was eventually{{when|date=April 2021}} traded throughout the continent along major river routes.{{Citation needed|date= January 2021}} [[File:TamarackMiners CopperCountryMI sepia.jpg|thumb|left|[[Miners]] at the [[Tamarack mine|Tamarack Mine]] in [[Copper Country]], Michigan, U.S., in 1905]]

[[File:Mining factory - DPLA - cc85a73449447a67878caac4f19a23d2.jpg|left|thumb|Mining factory, {{Circa}} 1880–1885. Photographs of the American West, Boston Public Library]]
In the early colonial history of the Americas, "native gold and silver was quickly expropriated and sent back to Spain in fleets of gold- and silver-laden galleons",<ref>Vaden, H.E. & Prevost. G. (2002). ''Politics of Latin America: The Power Game''. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 34.</ref> the gold and silver originating mostly from mines in Central and South America. [[Turquoise]] dated at 700 AD was mined in [[pre-Columbian]] America; in the Cerillos Mining District in [[New Mexico]], an estimate of "about 15,000 tons of rock had been removed from Mt. Chalchihuitl using [[stone tool]]s before 1700."<ref>Maynard, S.R., Lisenbee, A.L. & Rogers, J. (2002). Preliminary Geologic Map of the Picture Rock 7.5 – Minute Quadrangle Santa Fe County, Central New Mexico. New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Report DM-49.</ref><ref>The Cerrillos Hills Park Coalition, (2000). Cerrillos Hills Historic Park Vision Statement. Public documents: Author. Retrieved August 27, 2007, [http://www.cerrilloshills.org/Coalition/document.html]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801011021/http://www.cerrilloshills.org/Coalition/document.html|date=August 1, 2012}}</ref>

In 1727 Louis Denys (Denis) (1675–1741), sieur de La Ronde – brother of [[Simon-Pierre Denys de Bonaventure]] and the son-in-law of [[René-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière|René Chartier]] – took command of [[La Pointe, Wisconsin|Fort La Pointe]] at [[Chequamegon Bay]]; where natives informed him of an island of copper. La Ronde obtained permission from the French crown to operate mines in 1733, becoming "the first practical miner on Lake Superior"; seven years later, mining was halted by an outbreak between [[Sioux]] and [[Chippewa]] tribes.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jLTpCAAAQBAJ&q=la+ronde ''The WPA Guide to Wisconsin: The Badger State''], Federal Writers' Project, Trinity University Press, Wisconsin, USA, 2013, p. 451. Retrieved November 15, 2018.</ref>

[[Mining in the United States]] became widespread in the 19th century, and the United States Congress passed the [[General Mining Act of 1872]] to encourage mining of federal lands.<ref>McClure R, Schneider A. [http://www.seattlepi.com/specials/mining/26875_mine11.shtml The General Mining Act of 1872 has left a legacy of riches and ruin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205011349/http://www.seattlepi.com/specials/mining/26875_mine11.shtml |date=2010-12-05 }}. ''Seattle PI''.</ref> As with the [[California Gold Rush]] in the mid-19th century, mining for minerals and precious metals, along with [[ranching]], became a driving factor in the U.S. [[Westward Expansion]] to the Pacific coast. With the exploration of the West, mining camps sprang up and "expressed a distinctive spirit, an enduring legacy to the new nation"; Gold Rushers would experience the same problems as the Land Rushers of the transient West that preceded them.<ref>Boorstin, D.J. (1965). ''The Americans: The National Experience''. New York: Vintage Books, pp. 78–81.</ref> Aided by railroads, many people traveled West for work opportunities in mining. Western cities such as [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]] and [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] originated as mining towns.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mining in the West Development Articles and Essays Meeting of Frontiers Digital Collections Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/meeting-of-frontiers/articles-and-essays/development/mining-in-the-west/ |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA |access-date=27 September 2022}}</ref>

When new areas were explored, it was usually the gold ([[placer gold|placer]] and then [[lode gold|lode]]) and then silver that were taken into possession and extracted first. Other metals would often wait for railroads or canals, as coarse gold dust and nuggets do not require smelting and are easy to identify and transport.<ref name="Ricard32"/>

===Modernity===
[[File:View showing miners’ clothes.jpg|thumb|View showing miners' clothes suspended by pulleys, also wash basins and ventilation system, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, 1936]]
In the early 20th century, the gold and silver rush to the western United States also stimulated mining for coal as well as [[base metal]]s such as copper, lead, and iron. Areas in modern Montana, Utah, Arizona, and later Alaska became predominant suppliers of copper to the world, which was increasingly demanding copper for electrical and household goods.<ref name=miller>Miller C. (2013). ''Atlas of US and Canadian Environmental History'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=QD0LTYaBjKEC&pg=PA65 p. 64] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928225836/https://books.google.com/books?id=QD0LTYaBjKEC&pg=PA65 |date=2023-09-28 }}. ''Taylor & Francis''.</ref> Canada's mining industry grew more slowly than did the United States due to limitations in transportation, capital, and U.S. competition; Ontario was the major producer of the early 20th century with nickel, copper, and gold.<ref name=miller/>

Meanwhile, Australia experienced the [[Australian gold rushes]] and by the 1850s was producing 40% of the world's gold, followed by the establishment of large mines such as the [[Mount Morgan Mine]], which ran for nearly a hundred years, [[Broken Hill ore deposit]] (one of the largest zinc-lead ore deposits), and the iron ore mines at [[Iron Knob]]. After declines in production, another boom in mining occurred in the 1960s. In the early 21st century, Australia remains a major world mineral producer.<ref>[http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/history/index.html#1900 History of Australia's Minerals Industry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711145023/http://www.australianminesatlas.gov.au/history/index.html#1900 |date=2017-07-11 }}. Australian Atlas of Minerals Processing, Mines, and & Processing Centres.</ref>

As the 21st century begins, a globalized [[#Industry|mining industry]] of large multinational corporations has arisen. [[Peak minerals]] and [[#Environmental effects|environmental impacts]] have also become a concern. Different elements, particularly [[rare-earth mineral]]s, have begun to increase in demand as a result of new technologies.<ref name="Geosciences LibreTexts-2017"/>

In 2023, 8.5 billion metric tons of coal were extracted from the Earth's crust. However, as the global economy transitions away from fossil fuels and toward a more sustainable future, the demand for metals is set to skyrocket. Between 2022 and 2050, an estimated 7 billion metric tons of metals will need to be extracted. Steel will account for the largest portion of this total at 5 billion tons, followed by aluminum at 950 million tons, copper at 650 million tons, graphite at 170 million tons, nickel at 100 million tons, and other metals. Notably, the energy expenditure required to extract these metals will soon surpass that of coal mining, highlighting the growing importance of sustainable metal extraction practices.<ref>{{cite web | last=Rathi | first=Akshat | title=Net Zero Needs More Metals, But Less Extraction From the Earth | website=Bloomberg.com | date=2024-09-10 | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-10/net-zero-needs-more-metals-but-less-extraction-from-the-earth | access-date=2024-09-15}}</ref>