gold mine

American  

noun

1. a mine yielding gold.

2. a source of great wealth or profit, or any desirable thing.

3. a copious source or reserve of something required.

   a gold mine of information about antiques.

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gold mine British  

noun

1. a place where gold ore is mined

2. a source of great wealth, profit, etc

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gold mine Idioms  

1. A rich, plentiful source of wealth or some other desirable thing, as in That business proved to be a gold mine, or She's a gold mine of information about the industry. [First half of 1800s]

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• gold-miner
  noun
• gold-mining
  noun

Etymology

Origin of gold mine

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75

Example Sentences

"Our pastures have been closed off because of an exploratory drilling plan for a gold mine," said Nuriye Dilek, a 48-year-old livestock farmer.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

Last July, 18 workers were rescued from an unlicensed gold mine after having been trapped underground for 18 hours due to a mechanical failure.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

Are the Dodgers baseball’s version of a gold mine?

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The London-listed miner underperformed peers by approximately 50% as operational challenges at its Mara Rosa gold mine in Brazil weighed on shares, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

Johannesburg was a city built up around the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886, and Crown Mines was the largest gold mine in the city of gold.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela