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NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
 There are ancient, prehistoric copper mines along Lake Superior, and metallic copper was still found there, near the surface, in colonial times. Indians availed themselves of this copper starting at least 5000 years ago," and copper tools, arrowheads, and other artifacts that were part of an extensive native trade network have been discovered. In addition, obsidian, flint, and other minerals were mined, worked, and traded. While the early French explorers that encountered the sites made no use of the metals due to the difficulties in transporting it, the copper was eventually traded throughout the continent along major river routes. In Saskatchewan, Canada, there also are ancient quartz mines near Waddy Lake and surrounding regions.In the early colonial history of the Americas, "native gold and silver was quickly expropriated and sent back to Spain in fleets of gold- and silver-laden galleons" mostly from mines in Central and South America. Turquoise dated at 700 A.D. was mined in pre-Columbian America; in the Cerillos Mining District in New Mexico, estimates are that "about 15,000 tons of rock had been removed from Mt Chalchihuitl using stone tools before 1700." Mining in the United States became prevalent in the 19th century, and the General Mining Act of 1872 was passed to encourage mining of federal lands. As with the California Gold Rush in the mid 19th century, mining for minerals and precious metals, along with ranching, was a driving factor in the Westward Expansion to the Pacific coast. With the exploration of the West, mining camps were established and "expressed a distinctive spirit, an enduring legacy to the new nation;" Gold Rushers would experience the same problems as the Land Rushers of the transient West that preceded them. Aided by railroads, many traveled West for work opportunities in mining. Western cities such as Denver and Sacramento originated as mining towns. As new areas were explored, it was usually the gold (placer and then load) and then silver that were taken first, with other metals often waiting for railroads or canals. Coarse gold dust and nuggets do not require smelting, is easy to identify and is easily transported.
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