CLOSE WINDOW Gold doesn't grow on trees! All of the techniques used to find and extract gold have an impact on their location. See how gold mines around the world have changed the environment. South Africa North America Brazil Australia Australia Photograph by Sam Abell When the British settled Australia in the late 1700s, they established the island as a prison colony. In the mid-1800s, however, they discovered gold on the colony and British immigrants soon arrived by boatful to stake their claims. This mine in western Australia is the world's largest open-pit gold mine. TOP   © 2000 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.