It may have surprised some to learn that gold has been regularly found in the Czech Republic. In fact, the Czech Republic is one of the little-known places in Europe that holds great potential to producing a lot of gold in the future.
It is estimated that up to 1% of the world’s total gold reserve is hidden in the ground of the country. And there are over 800 recorded occurrences of auriforous ores discoveries within the country.
Let’s take a look at the history of mining in the Czech Republic and its possible future.
Gold Mining History
The history of gold mining in the Czech Republic is said to date back some 2000 years with the most productive region being what is known as Bohemia, and specifically around Plzenshy, Central Bohemia and West Bohemia. Placer mining was common in the 10th thru 12th century in the region. The biggest amount of mining that was done took place in the 13th and 14th centuries; these were when the first shaft mining operations were conducted.
Mining came to an abrupt end in the region at the end of the 14th century because the technology of the time would not enable the workers to mine at greater depths. There were smaller surges in the 16th, 17th and 19th centuries but none was as productive as those of the 14th century mining operations.
Since 1994 there was a moratorium on mining in the country due to environmental concerns, specifically associated with pollution concerns from the commonly used cyanide leaching process.
There have generally different types of gold mined in the Czech Republic; these consist of high yield ore veins and lower yielding irregular shaped formations which mainly consist of albitic metagranite.
A Glittering Future
It was mentioned that the Czech Republic could have gold reserves that make up to 1% of the total gold reserves found worldwide; that is an estimated 392 metric tons of the precious metal. This is quite impressive for a country that many people didn’t even realize had any gold at all.
That makes it a very attractive country to large companies that specialize in gold mining. When gold prices were at all-time highs a few years ago, there was considerable interest in the Czech Republic and considerable negotiation over the mining ban in the country. The possibility of mining in the country again is picking up speed within the government and they have begun accepting proposals from several large mining companies.
The spot price of the precious metal will certainly have an impact on mining here in the future. As prices continue to slump from their high prices a few years ago, many of these gold reserves cannot be mined profitably, even when there are millions of dollars in gold that could be extracted.
Still, gold price is considerably higher than it has been for many decades, and there are undoubtedly some profitable gold reserves within the country.
So with a potential new gold rush looming in the Czech Republic, many companies are anxiously awaiting the passing of new legislation so the gold mining process can begin again within the country. It is certain that if mining does indeed take place again that it will create many badly needed jobs in the gold mining regions.
Also Read: Gold Mining in Austria
Most of the opposition to gold mining in the republic was due to the fact that the companies were using cyanide based techniques to extract the gold from the rock; the government has stated that this form of gold extraction will not be allowed to take place again.
With new modern gold extraction methods available, it should still be possible for mining companies to profitably mine gold, and the start of a new gold boom in the Czech Republic is very possible in the coming years.
However, the active opposition from the public to mining within the country remains to be a challenge, and uncertainties about the future ability of companies to extract gold may be a hindrance to future production.
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