In addition to the environmental risks, mining operations also pose a very real health risk. Small-scale gold mining - the "non-organized" gold prospecting that occurs independently from mining companies - has existed for thousands of years, before mining companies were even developed.  It is still widespread today. Millions of people are currently prospecting for gold all over the world. This non-regulated practice - as soon as gold is involved, people become out of control - has always been dangerous, not only because the walls of holes may collapse, but also in terms of its impact on human health.  "When someone finds a gold nugget, they cannot keep it to themselves. They tell their neighbours, who in turn bring a crowd of people to a very small area. They organize themselves to dig for gold through a division of labour. Some dig the hole, others bring up the buckets, while women break up the pebbles with small hammers. Once gold has been found, other people swoop in like vultures and offer money to the gold diggers The smartest miners then go back home to help their families. But most of the miners who suffered in the heat and the dust spend their money on alcohol and women. It turns out that these small-scale gold mining camps are hotbeds of HIV infection. In addition, there are all the illnesses caused by dust and malnutrition. Lastly, the ones making the money are not the gold miners but rather the buyers, and the vendors selling beer and water at exorbitant prices.”  

Despite these obvious dangers, small-scale gold mining has led to numerous discoveries. In general, small-scale gold miners dig to a depth of about 30 metres, after which they start having aeration problems and abandon their holes. The private companies then come in with their high-tech, specialized equipment, digging down 100 or even 200 metres into the holes that were started. They are attracted to areas where small-scale gold mining occurs, wait for the miners to finish digging at the surface and then dig much deeper, sometimes coming across real treasures.

Belgian gold:  A possibility?

Several areas are known for being rich in gold deposits:  the Andes mountains, Western Africa, and the ancient volcanic belts in Australia, South Africa, India, and Canada. Yet Belgium's gold potential has largely been overlooked. And Pierre J. Goossens is convinced that there are significant gold resources in Belgium: "We should show more interest in our gold occurrences. We do have gold in Belgium, but we have never paid much attention to it. Certain areas have a great deal of potential, but no one is interested because we have lost the gold-mining tradition. When we talk about mining, most people think about coalmines, where 12-year-old children worked for hours on end and their parents emerged from the mines with blackened faces, only to spend their money on drink. Like in Zola's Germinal. We forget that mines are clean now. Many mines now use robots instead of people. In Ireland, the mines aren't even visible. In the middle of meadows dotted with cows, all you can see is a mound with a concrete door through which the trucks pass. In Belgium, as in France, people are afraid of mines because they believe they create pollution or cause other problems. However, when a country like ours needs new industries, the government should consider the underground wealth we possess:  not only gold, but zinc, silver, and lead, which are all present in large quantities."

Until the Belgian El Dorado is discovered, gold prospection still has a bright future. It is estimated that 100,000 tonnes of gold have been discovered in the mines that have been identified. Furthermore, there are many places that may yet contain undiscovered treasures, and we are still unable to evaluate the gold potential of the seabed.  The history of gold is therefore still being written!