One in a Million

We visited the Kalgoorlie Museum today, and then viewed the 'super pit' mine. The old underground mines have now been largely replaced by a single massive open-cut operation. The statistics are mind numbing. If I understand it correctly, each year around 15 million tonnes of ore are excavated from the pit, from which 15 tonnes of gold is produced. I won't tax any of our brains with any more numbers.

It all started in the 1890s, when gold was first discovered here. The Museum tells the story well. It includes, in a secure vault, a display of real gold specimens. The photo in extra I call Old Gold.