An issue is the definition of a “gold mine”. Many mines that produce gold are composite ores, other valuable metals are extracted at the same, usually silver or

An issue is the definition of a “gold mine”. Many mines that produce gold are composite ores, other valuable metals are extracted at the same, usually silver or copper but occasionally other metals. Mining of pure gold ores can be pretty clean as heavy metal mining goes, it is the other elements that tend to drag along messier chemistry. That aside, gold mining has been moving outside of the developed world for decades, most operating mines in the US (and the US produces prodigious amounts of gold) were already grandfathered in under prior laws. You’d have to ban gold mining in countries that aren’t going to play along. Also, even in the developed world, there is a lot of opportunity for black market gold production. A large fraction in the US is small producers and reserve studies are incentivized to be heavily sandbagged. For example, while the US produces a lot of gold, the origin of at least 30% of it is not entirely clear. Laundering off-book gold ore would be a piece of cake. It is a fascinating business.