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Mystery Mines That Enriched The Old World

Mystery Mines That Enriched The Old World

About 2.6 million years ago, predating Homo Sapiens, early human ancestors founded mining when they dug for stones that were best suited for making survival tools and weapons. They knew that stones on the surface were generally weathered and rounded, while those buried in the mud were still sharp. The oldest known mine in the world is the Ngwenya Mine in Eswatini (Swaziland), dating to around 43,000 years ago, where Paleolithic bushmen (San hunters) mined hematite and made red ochre pigments for cave paintings and ritual purposes.

Ngwenya mine is the oldest known mine in the world. The San, or Bushmen, mined hematite here 40,000 years ago to make paint for cave paintings and probably other uses. It was mined commercially up until the 1970s. ( Heather Dowd/CC BY-SA 2.0)

Ngwenya mine is the oldest known mine in the world. The San, or Bushmen, mined hematite here 40,000 years ago to make paint for cave paintings and probably other uses. It was mined commercially up until the 1970s. ( Heather Dowd/CC BY-SA 2.0)

About 10,000 years ago human communities began settling at agricultural centers all year round, hunting less, and mining metals that were traded over long distances. These early mining activities required the development of more advanced communication and recording skills, and it can be argued that mining was a bedrock of language and the resulting civilization. Around 6,000 years ago ancient Egyptians and Sumerians began smelting gold and silver from ores and trading crafted metal objects with distant cultures.  Tin was discovered about 5,500 years ago which when mixed with copper made bronze, the first discovered metal alloy that was harder than its constituents.


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