Editing Gold mining (section)

===== Ancient South America =====
In South America, gold mining in the [[Andes]] dates back thousands of years, with the [[Inca Empire|Inca]] empire employing extensive gold mining operations in regions such as present-day [[Peru]] and [[Ecuador]].<ref name=":23">{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Incas |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-021935-2 |editor-last=Alconini Mujica |editor-first=Sonia |series=Oxford handbooks |location=New York, NY |editor-last2=Covey |editor-first2=Alan}}</ref><ref name=":24">{{Cite journal |last1=Cuadra |first1=W. A. |last2=Dunkerley |first2=P. M. |date=1991-10-01 |title=A history of gold in Chile |url=http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/economicgeology/article/86/6/1155/20927/A-history-of-gold-in-Chile |journal=Economic Geology |language=en |volume=86 |issue=6 |pages=1155–1173 |doi=10.2113/gsecongeo.86.6.1155 |bibcode=1991EcGeo..86.1155C |issn=1554-0774|url-access=subscription }}</ref> They used stone tools and simple mining techniques to extract gold from rivers, streams, and surface deposits.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":24" />