Since civilization began, people have used mining techniques to access minerals in the surface of the Earth. Discoveries have shown that flint pebbles were extracted from deposits in France and Britain as far back as the New Stone Age. Ancient Egyptians mined copper as far back as 3000 BCE.

How did mine begin?

The earliest known mine for a specific mineral is coal from southern Africa, appearing worked 40,000 to 20,000 years ago. But, mining did not become a significant industry until more advanced civilizations developed 10,000 to 7,000 years ago.

What caused mining?

One cause of mining is population growth. With an increasing population, the overall world consumption levels also increase. This means that in order to be able to provide enough goods for the world population, resources have to be extracted at large scale. One great possibility to extract these resources is mining.