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Gold has been mined for centuries with evidence, such as gold jewellery and gold items being traced back to Egyptian times. The Egyptians considered gold to be highly desirable and the amount of gold you owned reflected your power and status in society.
The Romans were also mining for gold as far back as 25BC using hydraulics and high water pressure to breaks down rocks and extract gold particles. When the Romans invaded Britain they brought with them their mining skills and even established gold mines in Wales. Panning, the use of metal detectors, sluicing, dredging and hard rock mining are all methods of extracting gold.
China at present is the worlds largest producer of gold having recently overtaken South Africa. USA is the third largest followed by Australia. Due to the recent global economic crisis investments in gold bullion have soared as investors are increasingly buying gold bullion as a safe haven for their assets.
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