Good point. Something similar is happening in Zimbabwe my home country. Mining wasn't banned but mining companies left the country because the laws being passed

Good point. Something similar is happening in Zimbabwe my home country. Mining wasn't banned but mining companies left the country because the laws being passed made it difficult for outside companies to operate. The result is that a lot of illegal mining is now taking place so much so that the government was forced to acknowledge it by issuing gold/mineral selling licenses. In the past the government issued mining certificates, miners sold the minerals. So the question is where is the gold coming from?