another factor that has affected the price of gold has been the increasing difficulty in acquiring it. Tosay,most of the gold life in the ground is in microscoic pieces mixed with rock. To get it,miners must dig up tons and tons of rock,and then spray it with diluted cyanide (a poison) to separate out the gold. For one ounce of gold--a wedding ring,for example--the mine processes about 30 tons of rock. This is already a costly oeration. But there are also hidden social and environmental costs. The mining and processing of gold is ruinous to the environment and to the health of people living nearby. Most of these mines are in poor regions where the people have had little voice in whether there should be mines and how the mines should be run. The large multinational mining companies simply bought the land and opened the mines. However,as people and governments begin to realize the extent of the damage caused by the mines,the situation might change. Indeed,if the mining companies ever have to pay full environmental and social costs of mining gold,the price of gold is likely to climb yet higher.