Few metals occur naturally. Gold and copper are the major exceptions. Prehistoric people likely found these elements as anomalous particles in stream beds. Although copper subsequently proved to be of some practical value for arrowheads, knives, etc., gold, being extremely soft, had only an ornamental value. It was, nevertheless, apparently highly prized, judging from its appearance in ancient graves and the fact that it was mined. Placer mining was well established by 3800 B.C. as shown by drawings on Egyptian monuments of that era. It seems that placer mining, which has been an industry for some six thousand years, shows no signs of dying out.
