A Gold Mine is a place where gold is abundant enough to be extracted. Gold Mines are found in all games of the series.
Age of Empires[]
| “ | Can be mined for gold. | ” |
| —In-game description in the Definitive Edition | ||
Gold Mines in Age of Empires are rare and the gold extracted from them is often crucial for victory. Mining gold is a quicker and often safer method of acquiring gold than trading. They sometimes appear in clusters and sometimes singly.
If Coinage is researched, Gold Mines yield 25% more gold than is indicated.
Age of Empires II[]
Gold Mines in Age of Empires II are more common than in the first game, and gold is more regularly used as a resource. As such, its value is reduced, although it is still quicker and more efficient to gather from a Gold Mine than trade with other players or through Relics.
Age of Mythology[]
Gold Mines in Age of Mythology are quite common and all human military units require gold to be produced. Any worker unit can mine gold from a Gold Mine, although Dwarves are the game's most efficient miners.
Worshipers of Thor have access to the Dwarven Mine god power, which creates a gold mine at the location specified by the player.
In Tale of the Dragon, there are unique Gold Mines for Chinese terrain sets, Jade Mines. They function identically.
History[]
| “ | Gold occurs in alluvial placers and natural deposits underground. Alluvial elemental gold could be gained by ancient civilizations by washing away the sand particles with water in pans or sieves and then melting the remaining bits of gold. Underground ore was extracted by hand, which required a great deal of manpower, often in the form of slaves. In Egypt, gold-containing quartz veins were heated, then chipped out with hammers and chisels. The quartz was then pulverized in mills and the metal extracted by washing. The gold produced by this method was between 17 and 23.5 carats in purity. Gold was almost entirely decorative, as it was too weak for crafting functional items such as containers or armor. | ” |
| —In-game help section | ||
Age of Empires III[]
| “ | Fast but expiring source of Coin. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
Age of Empires III does not have gold as a resource, but instead has coin, an amalgam of all forms of wealth. In addition to Gold Mines, players can obtain coin from Silver Mines, Copper Mines, Tin Mines (The Warchiefs), and Coal Mines (Definitive Edition). All of these are used up rather quickly, though Diamond Mines (Definitive Edition) and Salt Mines (The African Royals) exceed a Gold Mine's value and thus last longer.
History[]
| “ | In 1848, the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in what would soon be California kicked off a gold rush that brought tens of thousands of hopeful prospectors across the wild frontiers of America. The influx of prospectors, whether they struck it rich or not, caused a boom in the economy focused on serving the needs of these prospectors. This further supported and reinforced the drive west with railroads and settlements. Sutter himself was a farmer who discovered a gold nugget in a river running through his land. He was ultimately ruined when his farmhands ran off to join the search for gold and his livestock were poached by squatters. | ” |
| —In-game compendium | ||
Age of Empires IV[]
In Age of Empires IV, Gold Mines are called Gold Veins and appear as small or large deposits.
Gallery[]
| Resources in Age of Empires series | |
|---|---|
| Common | Food · Wood · Gold/Coin · Stone* |
| Age of Mythology |  Favor |
| Age of Empires III |  XP ·  Export ·  Influence |
| Age of Empires IV |  Bounty ·  Vizier Point ·  Olive Oil |
| Extractable resource sources in the Age of Empires series | |
| Common | Tree · Gold Mine · Stone Mine* · Berry Bush · Farm (I · II · M · III · IV) · Animals (Fish · Herdable animal) |
| Age of Empires II |  Fish Trap |
| Age of Mythology |  Jade Mine |
| Age of Empires III |  Cherry Orchard ·  Coal Mine ·  Copper Mine ·  Crate ·  Diamond Mine ·  Estate ·  Field ·  Hacienda ·  Mango Grove ·  Mill ·  Rice Paddy ·  Rock · Salt Mine ·  Silver Mine · Tin Mine |
| Age of Empires IV |  Olive Grove |
| * not used in Age of Mythology and Age of Empires III | |