Gold Fever: A millennial history

In late 2012, global gold production was estimated at close to 174,000 tonnes, the equivalent of a 20-meter-wide cube or 2 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The discovery of this source of wealth has been marred by wars, deceit, and murderous invasions. Gold has always fascinated and seduced humanity, whose greed has driven us to commit the worst atrocities. How can we explain the yellow metal's incredible power of attraction? In a new University of Liège publication, Pierre J. Goossens has examined over eight millennia of mining history in order to help explain gold's appeal.

A well-known figure in the international mining sector and an honorary lecturer in the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Pierre J. Goossens is certainly one of the most qualified to write a book on the history of gold. Over the course of his impressive 45-year career, this mining geology consultant became interested in gold and has always been fascinated by the precious metal. He began studying gold, copper, and zinc mines during his work as a consultant. His clients - mining companies, the World Bank, and a variety of European financial institutions –mainly hired him to study the mining potential of specific regions or to determine the economic feasibility of projects and evaluate their mining codes. His work has led him all over the world, from Northeast Siberia to Southern Chile, as well as Africa and Asia. His book is a veritable "gold mine" of information about the precious metal, as it is based on his research, his experience, his unrivalled knowledge of the field, his participation in several research projects, and his team’s discovery of gold deposits in Mali. Pierre J. Goossens’ publication recounts the history of gold from its origins 8 millennia ago to today and examines all of the time periods and civilizations with a fine-toothed comb. The book also provides valuable information about different gold extraction techniques and offers a quantitative overview of production over the centuries.

The unwavering appeal of gold

Human greed for gold goes back to the beginning of time. Its golden yellow colour, its rarity, its indestructibility, its heavy weight, and its malleability (a single nugget can be transformed into a very thin sheet just several microns thick) all contribute to its unparalleled appeal. Gold has always aroused greed and sparked wars and invasions, despite the fact that it is completely unnecessary to human life.  Nowadays the dazzling yellow metal serves as a safeguard against inflation. It is hoarded in order to replace currencies that have become unstable in the wake of financial disasters in the past few decades.

The first historical record of gold comes from Bulgaria eight thousand years ago, but the fascination with gold started even earlier.  "I found evidence of mining as early as eight thousands years ago, but was unable to find anything older," explains Pierre J. Goossens. “The earliest traces of gold are mainly ornaments found in tombs. Gold was therefore already being hammered and worked by goldsmiths who understood its properties. But even before gold-working began, humans were undoubtedly already attracted to the metal. A hunter simply had to walk along a river looking for game to be drawn to the gold pebbles that glittered in the sunshine. It's very likely that he would then have offered this material that shone like the sun to his shamans and gods.”

The gold of the gods later became the gold of kings. For several millennia, gold was only available to great powers and the ruling classes, before becoming more accessible under the reign of Croesus, the king of Lydia (from 561 to 547 BC). Croesus developed the first coins made of electrum, a naturally-occurring gold and silver alloy that could be found in the Pactolus river. At the time, various countries were engaged in very vigorous trade. The kingdom of Lydia was located at a major crossroads and barter was a common practice there. Up to that point, traders and travellers used bulls as their primary medium of exchange. Needless to say, the introduction of gold coins offered a huge advantage in terms of transportation and malleability. The first coins were stamped with a bull's head, in honour of the former exchange unit. Gold thus left the hands of kings and began to be used by traders.

Much later, gold became even more accessible. In 1848, gold was discovered in California. More than 2.5 million people from all over the world rushed to the United States to seek their fortune. For the first time in the history of humanity, regular people rather than states or entities were hunting for gold. These optimistic prospectors - from China, Russia, and Europe - organised themselves into work cooperatives. They dug for gold for themselves and no one else. The gold belonged those that found it.

Despite its longstanding power of attraction, the search for gold has not always been as successful as it is now. Just a few decades ago, extracting gold deposits was rarely profitable. "When I started my career in 1965, we weren't looking for gold," says Pierre J. Goosens. "Governments had set the price of gold at $35 an ounce (or 31.1 g). Gold analysis methods were rare and expensive. At the time it was estimated that there was enough gold in the world and the existing mines were sufficient."

It wasn't until the early 1970s that an easy and affordable gold analysis method was invented in the United States: atomic absorption. When the United States abandoned the gold standard in 1971, the market opened up and the price of gold shot up. It reached a yearly average of $800 per ounce in 1980. At the same time, the price of other gold analysis methods decreased. The combination of these different factors prompted both companies and individuals to start searching for the noble metal. A number of abandoned mines in Canada, Australia, and the United States became operational again because of new potential. During the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, gold mining production increased dramatically. 

A not-so gilded history

"Looking for gold is a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack," says Pierre J. Goossens. In most mines, several gold particles are dispersed within rocks weighing several tonnes. Since extensive investments are made to extract the gold, the resulting profits must compensate for the initial expense. However, just several grammes of gold can make an excavation worthwhile. "In open-pit operations, one gram of gold per tonne of rock remains profitable," claims the expert. When gold is underground, the cost is much higher. One deposit must contain at least 5 or 6 grammes of gold per tonne of rock in order to be extracted, which is actually very little given that some mines have close to 50 grammes of gold per tonne. To extract the gold, the rock is usually ground before being subjected to different chemical treatments. Mercury in particular can isolate gold that is embedded in the rock. 

The disadvantage of these chemical techniques (cyanides) is that they leave behind toxic residues. These are channelled into a pond (usually artificial), which is protected by dams so that that the chemicals don't contaminate the groundwater. In reality, unscrupulous companies sometimes don't take the necessary precautions. The dams then release their toxic chemicals, which spill into the rivers. In Romania several years ago, dams cracked and created a veritable environmental catastrophe. The contaminated waters reached the Danube River. A similar incident also occurred in Guyana. 

However, the mining expert is only aware of these two cases of extreme pollution, out of thousands of active mines. He believes the problem can be resolved with appropriate funds. However, local populations are often quite worried about pollution, and oppose excavations despite the considerable benefits a mine can provide to the local economy. Tax revenues from gold mines can contribute a great deal to country's economy. Unfortunately, government corruption often prevents the population from benefitting from these revenues.

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!

(1) Pierre J. Goossens, "L'or à travers les âges. Une histoire pas toujours dorée", Presses Universitaires de Liège, Collection Essai, 2013.