Loading [MathJax]/extensions/TeX/AMSsymbols.js

August 15, 2018

Resources VII: Gold Mining


Gold is super rare.

We don't tend to think of it as such because humanity has always sought it out.

Gold has a crust abundance of 3.9(10)$^{-9}$. That's nothing. Also, it means I can't use this number straight up like I did for iron. So I'll try a different approach. By some modern day estimates, there are about 580 gold deposits on earth, about a third of which are being exploited. Let's compare that to the amount of land area on earth and the area of a hex:
\[{580\textrm{ deposits}\over 57,000,000\textrm{ mi}^2}\cdot 347\textrm{ mi}^2 = 0.351\%\]
Not a lot, but a workable number. That comes out to about 300 total mines on earth. I can play with the 580 number also.

Gold will often be found alongside of chalcopyrite (so in volcanic areas), but also occasionally in alluvial deposits (a major source for early civilizations) and then just randomly.

I think what I will do is give it a fairly high chance to be found where chalcopyrite is already being mined, as well as the random chance of 0.351% (or whatever it ends up being) everywhere else.

No comments:

Post a Comment