I Aitn't Dead Yet

I am in Las Medulas, northern Spain (Castilla y Leon), close to the site of some extremely old Roman gold mining.  They used a hydraulic method, like that used in California in the mid-19th century.  I will learn more over the next two days, especially about the environmental damage it caused, which is still visible, I am told.

The Romans called their mining process "ruin the mountain", and 1800 years later, you can still see the scars.

This is going to be seriously useful stuff!