Studies about Kyrgyz small-scale mining were conducted by the World Bank and the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland.

BBC: NEWS | Technology | Miners tap into video goldmine

To determine whether a deposit has enough of a mineral to merit mining, companies use air-based geological mapping and drill for core samples.

WSJ: Exhausting the Earth's Resources? Not So Fast

Mr Barron said he hoped the geological problems at the pit could be solved and that mining could continue there.

BBC: Maltby Colliery

So gold mining firm Gold Corp opened up a set of its geological data to the net and offered a half-million dollar prize fund to anyone who could "find gold".

BBC: TEDGlobal: Net opens up era of radical openness