Gold extraction Wikipedia
2019104 ensp 0183 enspThe smelting of gold began sometime around 6000 3000 BC According to one source the technique began to be in use in Mesopotamia or Syria In ancient Greece Heraclitus wrote on the subject According to de Lecerda and Salomons 1997 mercury was first in use for extraction at about 1000 BC according to Meech and others 1998 mercury was used in obtaining gold until the latter