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92-646: Until 2020, they were considered extinct as a people in Chile, and much of the English language literature. Settlement, gold mining and farming in the region of Tierra del Fuego were followed by the Selk'nam genocide . While the Selk'nam are closely associated with living in the northeastern area of Tierra del Fuego archipelago, they are believed to have originated as a people on the mainland. Thousands of years ago, they migrated by canoe across

184-614: A campaign of extermination against them, with the complicity of the Argentine and Chilean governments. Large companies paid sheep farmers or militia a bounty for each Selk'nam dead, which was confirmed by the presentation of a pair of hands or ears or, later, a complete skull. They were given more for the death of a woman than a man. The predicament of the Selk'nam worsened with the establishment of religious missions, which disrupted their livelihood through forcible relocation, and inadvertently brought with them deadly epidemics. Repression against

276-698: A combination of factors including the depletion of easily accessible gold deposits, harsh weather conditions, and the political instability at the time. The Welsh gold rush occurred in Wales , more so in the Dolgellau area of Gwynedd , during the 19th century. Gold deposits were discovered in Welsh mountains, with reports of gold being found in rivers Mawddach and Tryweryn . By the mid-19th century, commercial mining operations had begun. Wales' gold gained popularity for its quality and rarity, leading to its use in royal jewelry for

368-463: A comparative list of 150 Selk'nam- Tehuelche words, as he believed that there were connections to the Tehuelche people and language to the north. German anthropologist Robert Lehmann-Nitsche published the first scholarly studies of the Selk'nam, although he was later criticised for having studied members of the Selk'nam people who had been abducted and were exhibited in circuses. A common comment about

460-716: A critical source of income and livelihood, providing employment opportunities and economic support in regions with limited alternative options. Artisanal mining operations vary in scale, from individuals panning for gold in rivers and streams, to small groups working collectibely in informal mining camps, often referred to as ' galamsey ' in West Africa . Gold mining can create employment opportunities in mining operations and related sectors. Howevers, these jobs may be temporary. The sector's reliance on fluctuating global gold prices can lead to economic stability for communities dependent on mining. The discovery of significant gold deposits in

552-414: A few books on the subject, including Selk'nam tales, collected by the missions, and a dictionary of the Selk'nam (Ona) language. Due to early contact by missionaries, much more information was collected about the Selk'nam people than about other people of the region. Austrian priest and ethnologist Gusinde tried also to collect information about other local people, but he found their numbers much reduced. He

644-437: A gravel screening plant and sluice box floating in a temporary pond. The pond is excavated in the gravel bar and filled from the natural water table. "Pay" gravel is excavated from the front face of the pond and processed through the floating plant, with the gold trapped in the onboard sluice box and tailings stacked behind the plant, steadily filling in the back of the pond as the operation moves forward. This type of gold mining

736-554: A guanaco cape, and buried as soon as possible. There was also a tradition of specifically burying individuals in the hollows or roots of trees, and making sure the deceased could not be seen once they had been place there. There is no tradition of grave goods. Photographs of Selk'nam people taken by the missionaries are displayed at the Martin Gusinde Anthropological Museum in Puerto Williams . There are also

828-488: A lower grade. Tailings can contain lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. These toxins can pose health risks for local communities. Arsenic is typically found in gold-containing ores, and gold processing may contaminate groundwater or the atmosphere. This pollution may persist for decades. Furthermore, mining operations use large quantities of water for processing ore and can result in the contamination of water sources with heavy metals, such as mercury and cyanide , used in

920-464: A means for the company to avoid questioning and a strategy to lower its controversial profile. Special attention was paid to these events after the intervention of the Salesian missionaries, who condemned the actions of the ranchers while themselves unintentionally contributing to the extermination of native cultures. Beginning in the 1890s, the situation of the Selk'nam became severe. As the territories of

1012-442: A region often sees a flood of resources and development, which lasts as long as the mines are economic. When goldfields begin to decline in production, local economies find themselves destabilised and overly reliant upon an industry that will inevitably abandon the region when gold deposits are sufficiently depleted; leaving the areas without proper rehabilitation. John Randolph Spears John Randolph Spears (1850–1936)

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1104-545: A source of warmth in shelters as they would arrange themselves to sleep tightly against and around the Selk'nam. The Selk'nam spoke a Chon language . Missionary José María Beauvoir compiled a dictionary of the Selk'nam language. One source states that the last fluent native speakers died in the 1980s. For special occasions, such as initiation ceremonies, weddings, and funerals, Selk'nam would decorate their bodies with paint, especially their faces. The main colors employed in decoration are red, black, and white. Selk'nam religion

1196-727: A tributary of the Klondike River by George Carmack and his Indigenous companions, Skookum Jim Mason and Tagish Charlie . As prospectors arrived in Klondike, makeshift towns and settlements sprang up along the rivers, including Dawson City , which because the largest town in Yukon at the height of the gold rush. Prospectors employed various mining techniques to extract gold from the Klondike's streams and riverbeds, including placer mining, dredging, and hydraulic mining. The Carlin Trend of Nevada, U.S.,

1288-418: Is a cyanide extraction method, or gold cyanidation, introduced in the late 1800s. This a metallurgical technique used to extract gold from lower grade ores by converting gold into a water-soluble coordination complex. Finely ground rock is treated with a solution of sodium cyanide . The extract is absorbed onto carbon and then removed from the carbon with a solution of caustic soda and cyanide. Gold cyanide

1380-429: Is a method of extracting gold from alluvial deposits such as sand, gravel, and sediment. These are known as placer deposits which are typically found in riverbeds, stream beds, and floodplains. These deposits typically contain minerals that are resistant to weathering and eroision like gold , platinum , diamonds , and more. They are characterized by their relatively high concentration of valuable minerals compared to

1472-415: Is characterized by its low cost, as each rock is moved only once. It also has low environmental impact, as no stripping of vegetation or overburden is necessary, and all process water is fully recycled. Such operations are typical on New Zealand's South Island and in the Klondike region of Canada. Also called a cradle, a rocker box uses riffles located in a high-walled box to trap gold in a similar manner to

1564-616: Is done by small-scale miners using suction dredges. These are small machines that float on the water and are usually operated by one or two people. A suction dredge consists of a sluice box supported by pontoons, attached to a suction hose which is controlled by a miner working beneath the water. This method is particularly popular in areas where gold is found at river bottoms or submerge deposits . Suction dredging can have environmental impacts, moreso on aquatic habitats and water quality. Regulations and best practices are often in place to minimize these impacts. State dredging permits in many of

1656-436: Is essentially a man made channel with riffles set in the bottom. The riffles are designed to create dead zones in the current to allow gold to drop out of suspension. The box is placed in the stream to channel water flow. Gold-bearing material is placed at the top of the box. The material is carried by the current through the volt where gold and other dense material settles out behind the riffles. Less dense material flows out of

1748-841: Is estimated that the total gold production in Karnataka to date is 1000 tons. The mining of the Hungarian deposit (present-day Slovakia) primarily around Kremnica was the largest of the Medieval period in Europe. In South America, gold mining in the Andes dates back to thousands of years, with the Inca empire employing extensive gold mining operations in regions such as present-day Peru and Ecuador . They used stone tools and simple mining techniques to extract gold from rivers, streams, and surface deposits. During

1840-515: Is plain that the Ona is an aggressive warrior toward the whites only because of ill-treatment. […] Damnable ill-treatment on the part of the whites is at the bottom of all the Ona aggressiveness – and Ona suffering. The Selk'nam genocide was the genocide of the Selk'nam people from the second half of the 19th to the early 20th century. The genocide spanned a period of between ten and fifteen years. The Selk'nam had an estimated population of 4,000 people around

1932-962: Is produced by major corporations, there are an estimated 10 to 15 million small-scale artisanal gold miners worldwide. Around 4.5 million of them are women, and an estimated 600,000 children work in illegal artisanal gold mines. Artisanal miners use rudimentary methods to extract and process gold. Many of these people are mining to escape extreme poverty , unemployment and landlessness . In Ghana, galamsey miners are estimated to number 20,000 to 50,000. In neighboring francophone countries, such workers are called orpailleurs . In Brazil, Venezuela, Suriname, and French Guiana, workers are called garimpeiros . These workers are not required to claim responsibility for their social and environmental impacts. Miners risk government persecution, mine shaft collapses, and toxic poisoning from unsafe chemicals used in processing, such as mercury. For example, in Ghana during 2009,

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2024-401: Is the extraction of gold by mining . Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning . The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to more complex extraction processes such as pit mining and gold cyanidation . In the 20th and 21st centuries, most volume of mining was done by large corporations. However,

2116-628: Is then converted to relatively pure gold through gold parting . There are many environmental hazards associated with this extraction method, largely due to the high toxicity of the cyanide compounds. Furthermore, there are potentials for accidental spills or leaks to cause harm to aquatic ecosystems and human health. For example, in 2000, the Baia Mare cyanide spill in northern Romania released approximately 100,000 cubic metres (3,500,000 cu ft) of waste water contaminated with heavy metal sludge and up to 120 long tons (122 t) of cyanide into

2208-615: The British royal family . During the 19th century, numerous gold rushes in remote regions around the globe caused large migrations of miners, such as the California Gold Rush of 1849. This is one of the most famous gold rushes in history. The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in California sparked a massive migration of people from around the world to California in search of gold. The rush significantly accelerated westward expansion in

2300-568: The Dompoase mine collapse killed 18 workers. It was the worst mining disaster in Ghanaian history. Children in these mines suffer extremely harsh working conditions and various hazards such as collapsing tunnels, explosions, and chemical exposure. Children may be especially vulnerable to these hazards and many suffer from serious respiratory conditions, hearing, and vision problems. Gold mining by large multi-national corporations produces about 80% of

2392-457: The Hain involved tests for young males for courage, resourcefulness, resisting temptation, resisting pain and overcoming fear. It also included prolonged instructional courses to train the young men in the tasks for which they would be responsible. Before European encounter, the various rites of the Hain lasted a very long time, perhaps even a year on occasion. It would end with the last fight against

2484-556: The Haush (Manek'enk), another related nomadic culture who lived in the south-eastern part of the island, and the Yahgan (Yámana), an unrelated group who could be found along the southern coast. In late 1599, a small Dutch fleet led by Olivier van Noort entered the Strait of Magellan and had a hostile encounter with Selk'nam which left about forty Selk'nam dead. It was the bloodiest recorded event in

2576-664: The Kolar gold fields was mined to a depth of 50 metres (160 ft) during the Gupta period in the fifth century AD. During the Chola period in the 9th and 10th century AD, the scale of the operation grew. The metal continued to be mined by the eleventh century kings of South India, the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1560, and later by Tipu Sultan , the king of Mysore state and the British. It

2668-569: The Old Kingdom , the oval mallet was introduced for mining. By the Middle Kingdom , stone mortars to process ores and a new gold-washing technique were introduced. During the New Kingdom , Nubian mining expanded under Egyptian occupation with the invention of the grinding mill . Additionally, gold was associated with the sun god Ra and was believed to be eternal and indestructible, symbolising

2760-537: The Strait of Magellan . Their territory in the early Holocene probably ranged as far as the Cerro Benítez area of the Cerro Toro mountain range in Chile. Traditionally, the Selk'nam were nomadic people who relied on hunting for survival, though they were also recorded as engaging in occasional fishing during low tides. They dressed sparingly despite the cold climate of Patagonia . They shared Tierra del Fuego with

2852-511: The Tisza River. Historically, mercury was used extensively in placer gold mining in order to form mercury-gold amalgam with smaller gold particles, and thereby increase the gold recovery rates. First, the gold ore is crushed and ground to a fine powder to expose the gold particles for amalgamation. Then, this finely ground ore is mixed with liquid mercury to amalgamate it. Mercury forms an amalgam, an alloy, with gold particles to allow for

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2944-405: The "worst" spirit. Usually Hain s were started when there was enough food (for example a whale was washed onto the coast), a time when all the Selk'nam from all the groups would gather at one place, in male and female camps. "Spirits" sometimes went to female encampments to scare them, as well as moving around and acting in ways that related to their characters. The last Hain was held in one of

3036-415: The 1880s but saw their numbers reduced to 500 by the early 1900s. In 1879, the presence of significant gold deposits in the sands of the main rivers of Tierra del Fuego were reported. Hundreds of colonialists and foreign newcomers came to the island in search of fortune, conflicting with the indigenous population. However, resources of the metal depleted rapidly. Ranching became the center of controversy in

3128-547: The 3rd or 4th millennium BC, may be the world's oldest known gold mine. Gold has been prized by humans since prehistoric times. Archaeological evidence suggests that humans were mining gold as far back as 4000 BCE, with some the earliest known gold artifacts dating back to ancient Mesopotamia . Particularly in the region of present-day Iraq, gold was mined extensively. The ancient Sumerians , around 2500 BCE, developed sophisticated techniques for extracting gold from alluvial deposits and underground mines. These techniques included

3220-570: The Amazon rainforest, Indigenous peoples have been killed and had their rightfully owned land stolen from them. As a consequence of this, some have left the rainforest to move to cities which further puts them at risk to disease, homelessness, and poverty. Artisanal gold mining is widespread across Africa , occurring in numerous countries including Ghana , Mali , Burkina Faso , Tanzania , Zimbabwe , and many others. For many individuals and communities in rural Africa, artisanal gold mining represents

3312-623: The Chamber of Deputies of Chile adjusted the law, recognizing the Selk'nam as one of the indigenous peoples of Chile. Then on 5 September 2023 the National Congress of Chile recognised the Selk’nam as one of the 11 original peoples of Chile, accepting them as a living community of Chile. Members of parliament issued a statement declaring their regret over the role the Chilean and Argentinean states played in

3404-464: The Highlands during the 16th and 17th century. Gold deposits were discovered in rivers and streams, leading to a surge in prospecting and mining activity. The Scottish Crown took an interest in gold discoveries, in hopes of aiding the kingdom's economy and revenue. King James IV of Scotland established a royal mint to produce gold coins from Scottish gold. The Scottish gold rush eventually waned due to

3496-485: The Magellanic colony. The colonial authorities were aware of the indigenous group's plight, but sided with the ranchers' cause over the Selk'nam, who were excluded from their worldview based on "progress" and "civilization." Ranchers typically exercised their own judgement, including the financing of violent campaigns. Considerable numbers of foreign men were hired, and quantities of arms were imported for these campaigns, with

3588-932: The Middle Ages, Europe experience several gold rushes. Most notably in regions like Transylvania, Scotland, and Wales. These rushes were often small-scale and localised compared to later rushes in history. The Transylvania gold rush took place in the Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Romania ), primarily in the region of Transylvania during the medieval period. Transylvania was known for its rich mineral resources including gold, silver, and other metals. Miners in Transylvania used both surface and underground mining techniques to extract gold from alluvial deposits and veins. These methods include panning, sluicing, and rudimentary shaft mining. The Scottish gold rush occurred in Scotland, primarily in

3680-759: The Romans invaded Transylvania in what is now modern Romania in the second century AD. The legions were led by the emperor Trajan, and their exploits are shown on Trajan's Column in Rome and the several reproductions of the column elsewhere (such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London ). Under the Eastern Roman Empire Emperor Justinian's rule, gold was mined in the Balkans, Anatolia, Armenia, Egypt, and Nubia. In

3772-463: The Selk'nam from Europeans was on their height, where in early records they were recorded as "giants", with the ethnographer Frederick Cook writing in 1897–1899 that their average height was six foot, with instances of individuals six and a half foot tall. Relations with Europeans in the Beagle Channel area in the southern area of the island of Tierra del Fuego were somewhat more cordial than with

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3864-439: The Selk'nam persisted into the early twentieth century. Chile moved most of the Selk'nam in their territory to Dawson Island in the mid-1890s, confining them to a Salesian mission. Argentina finally allowed Salesian missionaries to aid the Selk'nam and attempt to assimilate them, with their traditional culture and livelihoods then completely interrupted. Later conflicts between governor Manuel Señoret  [ es ] and

3956-424: The Selk'nam, in what is now called the Selk'nam genocide . Salesian missionaries worked to protect and preserve Selk'nam culture. Father José María Beauvoir  [ es ] explored the region and studied the native Patagonian cultures and languages between 1881 and 1924. He compiled a 4,000-word vocabulary of the Selk'nam language, and 1,400 phrases and sentences, which was published in 1915. He included

4048-419: The Selk'nam. They were intended to provide housing and food for the natives, but closed due to the small number of Selk'nam remaining; they had numbered in the thousands before Western colonization, but by the early twentieth century only a few hundred remained. Alejandro Cañas estimated that in 1896 there was a population of 3,000 Selk'nam. Martín Gusinde , an Austrian priest and ethnologist who studied them in

4140-579: The United States and had profound effects on the region's economy and society. The gold rushes began in 1851 when Edward Hargraves , a prospector, discovered gold near Bathhurst , New South Wales . The most well known gold rush in Australia was the Victorian Gold Rush . Thousands of people, known as 'diggers', came from around the world to Australia in search of gold, which ultimately contributed to

4232-484: The United States gold dredging areas specify a seasonal time period and area closures to avoid conflicts between dredgers and the spawning time of fish populations. Some US states, such as Montana, require an extensive permitting procedure, including permits. Some large suction dredges [100 horsepower (75 kW) & 250 mm (10 in)] are used in commercial production throughout the world. Small suction dredges are much more efficient at extracting smaller gold than

4324-620: The area of the Kolar Gold Fields in Bangarpet Taluk , Kolar district of Karnataka state, India; gold was first mined prior to the 2nd and 3rd century AD by digging small pits. Golden objects found in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro have been traced to Kolar through the analysis of impurities – the impurities include 11% silver concentration, found only in KGF ore. The Champion reef at

4416-580: The box as tailings . Larger commercial placer mining operations employ screening plants, or trommels , to remove the larger alluvial materials such as boulders and gravel, before concentrating the remainder in a sluice box or jig plant. After the gold is sorted through trommels, it is then placed through regular sluice boxes for further sorting. These operations typically include diesel powered, earth moving equipment including excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders , and rock trucks. Although this method has largely been replaced by modern methods, some dredging

4508-465: The early 20th century, wrote in 1919 that only 279 Selk'nam remained. In 1945 the Salesian missionary, Lorenzo Massa, counted 25. In May 1974, Ángela Loij , the last known Selk'nam of non-mixed ancestry, died. Comunidad Rafaela Ishton was formed in the 1980s to fight for recognition and the rights of Selk'nam in Argentina, and in 1994 were recognised as an indigenous people by the government. In 1998,

4600-432: The efficient capture of gold from the ore. The gold is concentrated by boiling away the mercury from the amalgam . This process is called retorting. This is effective in extracting very small gold particles, but the process is hazardous due to the toxicity of mercury vapour. Large-scale use of mercury stopped in the 1960s. However, mercury is still used in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). While most gold

4692-553: The existence of 2,761 people who recognised themselves as Selk'nam throughout the country, 294 of them in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands . In the 2017 Chilean census 1,144 people declared themselves to be Selk'nam. The descendants of the previously considered extinct Selk'nam people are in the process of cultural reappropriation and recreation and do not consider themselves or their people as extinct. The Corporación Selk'nam campaigned for an amendment to Indigenous Law 19.253, and on 27 June 2020

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4784-762: The extraction process. This pollution can have detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems and human health. Soil degradation has also been found to be impacted by gold mining. Mining activities can disturb soil structure, leading to erosion, sedimentation of waterways, and loss of fertile land for agriculture or vegetation regrowth. More evidently, dust and emissions from mining machiner and processing facilities can contribute to air pollution, impacting air quality and potentially causings respiratory problems for nearby communities. Large-scale gold mining projects may require land acquisition and resettlement of local communities, leading to displacement, loss of livelihoods, and disruption of traditional ways of life. In addition to

4876-423: The faces of the individuals marrying, another tradition observed by Gusinde among the Selk'nam was related to marriage proposals, where a man would have a bow made and silently present it to the woman he wished to marry in front of the elders of her family. After the death of an individual, it was the duty of their family to light a large fire and engage in singing and dancing. The individual would then be wrapped in

4968-497: The forces of change were against the indigenous tribes, who continued to have high fatality rates as their cultures were disrupted. Lucas Bridges' book, Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948), provides sympathetic insight into the lives of the Selk'nam and Yahgan. In recording the stories of a multitude of Europeans living in Tierra del Fuego, the journalist John Randolph Spears wrote that: It

5060-509: The goal of eliminating the Selk'nam, who were perceived as a major obstacle to the success of colonists' investments. Farm employees later confirmed the routine nature of such campaigns. The shareholders of the Company for the Exploitation of Tierra del Fuego ( Spanish : Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego ) strove to hide their actions towards native tribes from the public. This was both

5152-694: The gold supply. Most gold is mined in developing nations. Large mining companies play a key role in globalisation of the economy by linking rich and poor companies. Newmont and Barrick Gold are the largest gold mining companies in the world, but there are many smaller corporations in the industry. Local communities are frequently vulnerable to environmental degradation caused by large mining companies and may lack government protection or industry regulation. For example, thousands of people around Lega Dembi mine are exposed to mercury, arsenic, and other toxins resulting in widespread health problems and birth defects. Vulnerable communities may also lose their land to

5244-553: The growth of cities like Melbourne and Sydney . The discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand led to the Second Boer War and ultimately the founding of South Africa. This transformed the region into one of the wealthiest gold-producing areas in the world. This rush played a crucial role in the development of South Africa's economy and lead to the establishment of Johannesburg, known as the 'city of gold'. Gold-bearing reefs in

5336-399: The guanaco hunted by Selk'nam were then used in the construction of shelters, bags, and clothing. The Selk'nam were also known to engage in fishing during low tides using spears, where the majority of seafood procured were eels, though more rarely caught seafood such as róbalos were more valued. In the south of the island birds made up a portion of the Selk'nam diet. Later research has brought

5428-417: The head of the Salesian mission José Fagnano only served to worsen, rather than improve, conditions for the Selk'nam. Long disputes between civil authorities and priests did not allow a satisfactory solution to the indigenous issue. Governor Señoret favored the ranchers' cause, and took little interest in the incidents that took place in Tierra del Fuego. Two Christian missions were established to preach to

5520-750: The heat is unbearable for humans, and air conditioning is required for the safety of the workers. The first such mine to receive air conditioning was Robinson Deep , at that time the deepest mine in the world for any mineral. Gold is also produced by mining in which it is not the principal product. Large copper mines, such as the Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, often recover considerable amounts of gold and other metals along with copper. Sand and gravel pits, like those in Denver (Colorado), may recover small amounts of gold in their wash operations. The largest producing gold mine in

5612-407: The late 19th century. These newcomers developed a great part of the land of Tierra del Fuego as large estancias (ranches), depriving the natives of their ancestral hunting areas. The Selk'nam, who did not have a concept of private property, considered the sheep herds to be game and hunted the sheep. The ranch owners regarded this as poaching, and paid armed groups or militia to hunt down and kill

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5704-461: The lowest ever recorded for tropical forests, with there being little to no tree regeneration at abandoned mining camps, even after several years. The Amazon rainforest is at risk for 'savannization', which is the gradual transformation of a tropical rainforest into a savannah. This would ultimately lead to a collapse of biodiversity, ecosystems, and climate. Gold mining produces more waste than mining of other minerals, because it can be mined at

5796-610: The males found out at the initiation rite. The contemporary ceremonies used this interplay in somewhat of a joking way. After the first day, related ceremonies and rituals took place. Males showed their strength in front of women by fighting spirits (who were other men but the women supposedly did not know it) in some theatrical fights. Each spirit was played with traditional actions, words and gestures, so that everyone could identify it. The best spirit actors from previous Hain s were called again to impersonate spirits in later Hain s. Apart from these dramatic re-enactments of mythic events,

5888-494: The massacres of Indigenous people. The missions and early 20th-century anthropologists collected information about Selk'nam culture, religion and traditions while trying to help them preserve their culture. A large part of the traditional diet of Selk'nam according to early accounts, was made of the guanaco which they hunted using bows and arrows as well as with bola s. The guanaco of Tierra del Fuego were recorded as being larger than their Patagonian counterparts. The hide of

5980-663: The mine. Some large companies have attempted to build local legitimacy through corporate responsibility initiatives and local development. Gold mining can significantly alter the natural environment. Gold mining activities in tropical forests are increasingly causing deforestation along rivers and in remote areas rich in biodiversity. Mining has increased rainforest loss up to 70km beyond lease boundaries, causing nearly 11,670 km of deforestation between 2005 to 2015. Up to 9% of gold mining occurs outside of these regulated lease boundaries. Other gold mining impacts, particularly in aquatic systems with residual cyanide or mercury (used in

6072-506: The missions in the early 20th century, and was photographed by missionary Martin Gusinde . It was a shorter and smaller ceremony than used to be held. The photographs show the "spirit" costumes the Selk'nam created and wore. Gusinde's The Lost Tribes of Tierra Del Fuego (2015) was published in English by Thames & Hudson , and in French and Spanish by Éditions Xavier Barral . Beyond decorating

6164-711: The neighbouring Free State province were found shortly thereafter, driving significant development in the region with the establishment of the Free State goldfields . Also known as the Yukon Gold Rush , brought prospectors from around the world to the Klondike region of the Yukon territory in Canada . The Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896, when gold was discovered in Bonanza Creek ,

6256-420: The north began to be largely occupied by farms and ranches, many indigenous people, beset by hunger and persecuted by colonists, started to flee towards the extreme south of the island. This region was already inhabited by indigenous groups who had a strong sense of ownership over the land. Consequently, the fights for control of territory intensified. The large ranchers tried to drive out the Selk'nam, then began

6348-413: The old bucket line . This has improved the chances of finding gold. Smaller dredges with 50-to-100-millimetre (2 to 4 in) suction tubes are used to sample areas behind boulders and along potential pay streaks, until "colour" (gold) appears. Other larger scale dredging operations take place on exposed river gravel bars at seasonal low water. These operations typically use a land based excavator to feed

6440-598: The oldest known gold artifacts were found in the Varna Necropolis in Bulgaria . The graves of the necropolis were built between 4700 and 4200 BC, indicating that gold mining could be at least 6,724 years old. During a series of excavations carried out between 1878 and 1992, several graves were found with more than 6kg of gold. A group of German and Georgian archaeologists claims the Sakdrisi site in southern Georgia , dating to

6532-428: The passage to adulthood, was called Hain . Nearby indigenous peoples, the Yahgan and Haush , had similar initiation ceremonies. Young males were called to a dark hut. There they would be attacked by "spirits", who were men dressed as supernatural beings. Children were taught to believe in and fear these spirits during childhood and were threatened by them in case they misbehaved. The boys' task in this rite of passage

6624-549: The pharoah's divine power and afterlife. Gold has also been found in the tombs of Tutankhamun and other pharoahs. During the Bronze Age, gold objects were also plentiful; especially in Ireland and Spain. Romans employed slave labour and used hydraulic mining methods, such as hushing and ground sluicing on a large scale to extract gold from extensive alluvial (loose sediment) deposits, such as those at Las Medulas . Mining

6716-688: The possible respiratory problems that could be acquired, individuals may be exposed to hazardous chemicals used in gold extraction such as mercury and cyanide. These chemicals pose risks to gold miners, communities, and wildlife; resulting in further medical problems involving neurological disorders and waterborne diseases . Gold mining in some regions has been associated with conflicts over land rights, labour rights violations, and exploitation of vulnerable populations, including Indigenous peoples and artisanal miners. Mining activities can damage or destroy cultural heritage sites, artifacts, and sacred areas; further impacting cultural identities and heritages. In

6808-454: The proportionality of food resources in these early accounts into question. The Selk'nam were also known to employ the Fuegian dog , a domesticated form of the culpeo , in hunting efforts. While Julius Popper did not observe the dogs being of use in hunts, Antonio Coiazzi did record their use in hunting and this has been supported by later research. All sources agree that the dogs also provided

6900-433: The provincial Legislature of Tierra del Fuego recognised a treaty signed in 1925 between the president of Argentina, Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear , and the Selk'nam people. Law 405 restored 35,000 hectares of 45,000 designated in the treaty to the Selk'nam people, with the remaining 10,000 hectares retained for the future establishment of the municipality of Tolhuin . The 2010 National Population Census in Argentina revealed

6992-479: The ranchers. Thomas Bridges , who had been an Anglican missionary at Ushuaia , retired from that service. He was given a large land grant by the Argentine government, where he founded Estancia Harberton . Lucas Bridges , one of his three sons, did much to help the local cultures. Like his father, he learned the languages of the various groups and tried to provide the natives with some space in which to live their customary lives as "lords of their own land." However

7084-407: The recovery of gold from ore), can be highly toxic to people and wildlife even at relatively low concentrations. Illegal gold mining exacerbates the ecological vulnerability of the remaining forest ultimately leading to permanent forest loss. Gold mining clears native forests for mineral extraction, but also indirectly facilitates access to more land and further clearing. Rainforest recovery rates are

7176-540: The sluice box. A rocker box uses less water than a sluice box and is well suited for areas where water is limited. A rocking motion provides the water movement needed for the gravity separation of gold in placer material. Rocker boxes gained popularity during the California Gold Rush in the 19th century and remain in use today. Although simple and inexpensive, it is not efficient as the previously discussed mining techniques . The dominant method for refining gold

7268-497: The strait until then. James Cook described meeting a people in Tierra del Fuego in 1769 that used pieces of glass in their arrowheads. Cook believed the glass had been a gift from the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville , indicating potentially several early contacts. Glass arrowheads became an ever more common occurrence among the Selk'nam as their interactions with Europeans became more common. The Selk'nam had little contact with ethnic Europeans until settlers arrived in

7360-467: The surrounding rock or sediments. Unlike hard-rock mining, which involves excavating solid rock formations, water or dredging is used to extract the gold. Using a sluice box to extract gold from placer deposits has long been a very common practice in prospecting and small-scale mining. Sluices work on the principle that heavier particles will sink to the bottom of a stream, while those that are lighter will be carried downstream and expelled. A sluice box

7452-704: The use of sluice boxes. Evidence suggests that Nubia had sporadic access to gold nuggets during the Neolithic and Prehistoric Period . Gold mining in Egypt involved both surface mining such as panning for gold in riverbeads and underground mining, where tunnels were dug to extract gold-bearing quartz veins. During the Bronze Age , sites in the Eastern Desert became a great source of gold-mining for nomadic Nubians, who used "two-hand-mallets" and "grinding ore extraction ." By

7544-453: The value of gold has led to millions of small, artisanal miners in many parts of the Global South . Like all mining, human rights and environmental issues are common in the gold mining industry, and can result in environmental conflict . In mines with less regulation, health and safety risks are much higher. The exact date that humans first began to mine gold is unknown, but some of

7636-587: The world's gold. Sometimes open-pit mining is used, such as at the Fort Knox Mine in central Alaska. Barrick Gold Corporation has one of the largest open-pit gold mines in North America located on its Goldstrike mine property in north eastern Nevada. Other gold mines use underground mining, where the ore is extracted through tunnels or shafts. South Africa has the world's deepest hard rock gold mine up to 3,900 metres (12,800 ft) underground. At such depths,

7728-711: The world, the Grasberg mine in Papua, Indonesia, is primarily a copper mine. Gold panning , or simply panning , is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especially because of its low cost and relative simplicity. The first recorded instances of placer mining are from ancient Rome , where gold and other precious metals were extracted from streams and mountainsides using sluices and panning ( ruina montium ). Placer mining

7820-663: Was China with 368.3 tonnes of gold mined in that year. The second-largest producer of gold was Russia where 331.1 tonnes was mined in the same year, followed by Australia with 327.8 tonnes. In 2023, the annual gold demand of 4,448 tonnes was 5% below that of 2022. The total gold demand in 2023 was the highest at 4,899 tonnes. Despite its decreasing content in ores, gold production is increasing. This increase can be achieved through ever larger-scale industrial installations as well as innovations, especially in hydrometallurgy . Hard rock mining extracts gold encased in rock, rather than fragments in loose sediment, and produces most of

7912-411: Was a complex system of beliefs, with a creation myth . Temáukel was the name of the great supernatural entity who they believed kept the world order. The creator deity of the world was called Kénos or Quénos. The Selk'nam had individuals who took shaman -like roles. Such a xon ( IPA: [xon] ) had supernatural capabilities, e.g. to control weather. The Selk'nam male initiation ceremony,

8004-582: Was able to write more about traditional Selk'nam culture because it was still being lived by the Selk'nam people into the 20th century. As of 2023, the ancestral remains of 14 Selk'nam individuals are kept in the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna . Ángela Loij (1900–1974) is considered to have been the last Selk'nam of non-mixed ancestry, a school was named in her honour in Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego . Her grand-niece Amalia Gudiño

8096-856: Was an American author and journalist. John Randolph Spears was born at Van Wert, Ohio on April 21, 1850. He married Celestia Smiley on November 11, 1873. In 1875, he became editor of the East Aurora Advertiser , and the next year he founded the Silver Creek Local . He was a reporter on the Buffalo Express from 1880 until 1882, when he joined the staff of the New York Sun . Later, devoting himself to writing, he settled at Little Falls, N. Y. He died in Utica, New York on January 25, 1936. This biography of an American historian

8188-458: Was discovered in 1961. Official estimates indicate that total world gold production since the beginning of civilization has been around 6,352,216,000 troy ounces (197,576.0 t) and total gold production in Nevada is 1.1% of that, ranking Nevada as one of the Earth's primary gold-producing regions. World gold production was 3,612 tonnes in 2022. As of 2020 , the world's largest gold producer

8280-488: Was elected as a deputy in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in 1995, becoming the first indigenous person to serve as a deputy in Argentina. Enriqueta Gastelumendi  [ es ] (1913–2004) was an artisanal carver from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The daughter of a Selk'nam mother and a Basque father, she won awards for her artistic works detailing life in Tierra del Fuego. Gold mining Gold mining

8372-435: Was to unmask the spirits; when the boys saw that the spirits were human, they were told a story of world creation related to the sun and moon . In a related story, they were told that in the past women used to be disguised as spirits to control men. When the men discovered the masquerade, they, in turn, would threaten women as spirits. According to the men, the women never learned that the masked men were not truly spirits, but

8464-516: Was under the control of the state but the mines may have been leased to civilian contractors some time later. The gold served as the primary medium of exchange within the empire, and was an important motive in the Roman conquest of Britain by Claudius in the first century AD; although there is only one known Roman gold mine at Dolaucothi in west Wales. Gold was a prime motivation for the campaign in Dacia when

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