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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;fatima, post: 1276549, member: 22143&quot;]Most new gold today is strip mined out of large craters.&nbsp; The ore contains minute amounts of gold not visible to the eye.&nbsp; It&#039;s hauled out of the pit by CAT trucks that are so large there is a 2 story staircase to reach the cabin.&nbsp; This ore is dumped in a nearby production facility where it is reduced to dirt then processed to remove the gold.&nbsp; It takes tons of ore to produce an ounce of gold.&nbsp; They will pour the gold into rough bars where it is then sent to a mint for further refinement.&nbsp;&nbsp; It&#039;s pretty low cost if the volumes are maintained hence the incredible size of these places. </p><p><br /></p><p>The link below shows a NASA photo the Super Pit mine at Kalgoorlie, Austrailia.&nbsp; It&#039;s large enough to be seen from space.&nbsp; Notice that it is as large as the nearby town.&nbsp;&nbsp; The white deposits are the left overs from the production process.&nbsp; If you look closely you can also see the production facility.&nbsp;&nbsp; It would be my guess that many of the Perth Mint products are produced from ore from this mine.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>(warning, large file)</p><p><a href="http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/42000/42763/superpit_ali_2010045_lrg.jpg" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/42000/42763/superpit_ali_2010045_lrg.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/42000/42763/superpit_ali_2010045_lrg.jpg</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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