gold mine

American  

noun

gold mines plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gold mines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gold mine

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75

Example Sentences

JPMorgan decided to not put its own money into L3Harris, but it has so far invested in a gold mine in Idaho and a San Diego-based manufacturer of fighter drones powered by artificial intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

"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

Jobs had to realize his gold mine before the market would credit Apple with a gold mine.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 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

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