Looking for Gold in the Distant Past

The rugged terrain of Asturias in Northern Spain is dotted with remnants of aqueducts and mining pits, reminders that the region was an important supplier of gold to the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago. Now Asturias is regaining its luster. Near the village of Boins, Orvana Minerals is tunneling into a mountainside to mine a deposit that's expected to produce more than 100,000 ounces annually when fully operational in 2012.

"This will be Europe's largest gold mine," General Manager Agne Ahlenius says, shouting to be heard above the pneumatic drills as they sink reinforcing rods into a tunnel a quarter-mile underground. With gold fetching a record-high $1,528 an ounce, Toronto-based Orvana, which also owns a gold mine in Bolivia, says it expects to recover Asturias's development costs in less than three years.